by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: November 2013

Primary Name Associated: Akihiro Koushirou

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

An Ontario firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Tiel Eisses, on behalf of Akihiro Koushirou, 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: T.Eisses [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 2:09 PM
Subject: Dear Counsel, Get back to us.

Dear Counsel,

I need a Business/Commercial litigation lawyer who can handle a collection issue for our company in collection of debt against a company in your jurisdiction.

Please let me know if you can be of assistance to me or If not a referral could be helpful.

Do get back to us if you can assist. Email our company’s Purchasing Manager, Mr. Akihiro Koushirou on [email protected] for more information.

Thanks
Tiel Eisses

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.