Commercial debt collection scam by Michael Stakenberg of Sahaviriya Steel Industries
Date First Reported: January 2013
Primary Name Associated: Michael Stakenberg
Description of Potential Fraud:
Two Ontario lawyers have notified us that they have received an email from the purported Michael Stakenberg of Sahaviriya Steel Industries with regards to a commercial debt litigation 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.
Here is the initial email:
From: Michael Stakenberg [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 10:59 AM
To: lawyer name
Subject: RE: Michael Stakenberg – collection matter
I reprensent Sahaviriya Steel Industries. We would like to retain your firm’s services to collect debt owed to us by the company below.The debt owed is $1,200,000.00USD. We placed order for machineries that was not delivered to us. If this within your firm’s capacity, then get back to me with your retainer agreement for review
We are seeking to collect against the company below for breach of contract
Superex Canada Ltd
601 Gordon Baker Rd,
North York, ON M2H 3B8
We awaits your prompt response
Regards,
Michael Stakenberg
Managing Director
Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI UK)
Steel House Redcar
Cleveland TS10 5QW
Tel: +44 702 403 0506
Fax: 086 776 8317
http://www.ssi-steel.co.uk
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.
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January 24, 2013 at 10:23 am, Carolyn Brandow said:
I received the above email from Michael Stakenberg as well. There was no response to a reply advising that we require full client identification.