by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: October 2013

Primary Name Associated: Morgan Evans

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

An Ontario lawyer has notified us that he received an email from the purported Morgan Evans of Luton EA Ltd looking to retain them with regards to a commercial debt collection.

This is a classic bad cheque scam that presents as legal matter requiring the assistance of a lawyer. In this scam lawyers will be duped into wiring real funds from their trust accounts after depositing a fake cheque received as payment from the debtor (who is part of the fraud). See our Confirmed Fraud Page for more of an explanation of how these frauds work and to see other names associated with it. Our Fraud Fact Sheet lists the red flags of a bogus legal matter that is really a fraud.

Here is the initial contact email sent by the fraudster to the lawyer:

From: Morgan EVANS [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: September-11-13 5:36 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: We Need Your Service

Dear Counsel,

The services of your law firm is required by Luton EA Ltd. Please respond by confirming receipt of this email. Luton EA Ltd is facing issues with one of our delinquent customers and we proudly choose your law firm to advise our company on how to proceed with such matters in court. We are very committed in pursuing this case in court as quickly as possible. Your response is very important at this time, have a wonderful day.

Most regards,

Morgan EVANS
Luton EA Ltd
Phone: 44 7012984016
Add: 6 Sovereign Close
London, Greater London

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.