by FraudInfo

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

Seven lawyers in the U.S. have notified us that they received an email from the someone purporting to be Michael England with regards to a commercial debt collection scam. For examples of other names attached to this kind of fraud see our Confirmed Fraud Page. For an explanation of how this fraud works see our Fraud Fact Sheet.

Brammer UK is a real company whose name has been unlawfully used in this fraud attempt. Note that the fraudsters have used a Gmail address for Michael England, and not a corporate email address.

Here is the initial email:

From: michael england [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 9:37 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Legal Matters

Do you handle breach of contract cases?. If you do let us know and our company will be glad working with you in resolving our present legal matter.

Best Regards,

Michael England

Replying to the email brought this response:

Thank you for responding to our email to your firm. Our case is a really straight forward one. We had urgent need of the goods listed in the contract attached and contacted THE HOME DEPOT. We contacted them because they had the specific manufacturers of the products we needed. We were given their prices which we found satisfactory and asked to pay a 50% down payment for goods to be delivered and the balance after goods have gotten to its destination.

We did that and paid the down payment , they confirmed that the funds hit their account and up till date no delivery was made. They breached the terms of the contract and we cancelled the order and asked for a refund of the down payment that was made and they have refused to refund us despite all the efforts we made trying to get back our funds without introducing any legal action.

At this point we feel like we have been taken for a ride and have come to understand that words alone won’t bring our funds back which is why we have decided to get the help of a lawyer to enforce the terms of the contract and also help us get our money back.

We have attached to this email copies of all documents we have regarding the said transaction and will like you to review and let us know how you wish to proceed and also let us know if your require anything else. In our country we are required to go into an agreement with any firm we wish to hire and we are also required to pay some legal fees and believe it should be the same in your country. However, if that be the case we would want you to advise on your fees and also have a copy of your firms agreement sent for our review.

We are willing to proceed at once as long as your fees are reasonable. We are also aware that you will need to perform a conflict search. So find details of the company in default below

THE HOME DEPOT
4403 Millenia Plaza Way
Orlando, FL 32839

Lastly, we would like to know a few things about your firm.

1. If you have handled such a case before?.
2. what strategies your bringing to the table to resolve this case as quickly as possible and also how long a case like this would take?.
3. How long you have been in practice?.
4. We would like to know if a case like this would end up in litigation or if you have an alternative plan?.
5. Is it compulsory we appear in person in court?.

We would be glad if you get back to us with a detailed email and response to the questions raised in this email as we wish to resolve this matter as quick as possible.

Regards,

Michael England
Sales Director
Brammer UK Ltd
Claverton Court
Claverton Road
Wythenshawe, Manchester

How to handle a real or suspected fraud

If you have been targeted by any of these frauds, please forward any of the emails and supporting documents that you have received to [email protected].

If you suspect you are acting on a matter that might be a fraud, call LAWPRO at 1-800-410-1013 (416-598-5899). We will talk you through the common fraud scenarios we are seeing and help you spot red flags that may indicate you are being duped. This will help you ask appropriate questions of your client to determine if the matter is legitimate or not. If the matter you are acting on turns out to be a fraud and there is a potential claim, we will work with you to prevent the fraud and minimize potential claims costs.

If you have been successfully duped, please immediately notify LAWPRO as there may be a claim against you.

For more immediate updates on fraud and claims prevention, subscribe to the email or RSS feed updates from LAWPRO’s AvoidAClaim blog.

Fraud Fact Sheet More fraud prevention information and resources are available on the practicePRO Fraud page, including the Fraud Fact Sheet, a handy reference for lawyers and law firm staff that describes the common frauds and the red flags that can help identify them.