Separation agreement scam using the name Fumiko Anderson
Date First Reported: September 2013
Primary Name Associated: Fumiko Anderson
Description of Potential Fraud:
[Updated Nov 2013]
Over 180 lawyers in Ontario, the U.S and overseas have notified us that they received an email from the purported Fumiko Anderson looking to retain them with regards to a collecting overdue payments resulting from a separation agreement.
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 email, subsequent replies and fake documentation sent by the fraudster to the lawyer:
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 8:18 AM
Subject: I need your Counsel
Dear Counsel,
I wish to engage your legal representation to help me file a petition against my ex-husband for breaching the court order with regards to payment of Child Support, Spousal Support and Medical Support. Kindly advise.
Regards,
Fumiko Anderson
Replying to the email brought this response:
Thank you for your prompt response. Am currently in Japan for an assignment while Bill Anderson (ex-husband) lives in Chicago, IL. Due to the time difference (+13hrs EST) it is a little bit difficult to determine the best time to call you. Following our divorce, we agreed under a negotiated settlement agreement which is incorporated, merged into and made part of the court decree for a one-time payment of $878,650.00USD for Family support (this includes child support, alimony and medical support). To his credit, he has paid me $201,600.00USD but still owing $677.050.00USD and the due time for completion of payment is over. Thus, I request your legal counsel and representation to enforce the final judgment thereby compelling him to remit the balance owed me. He is aware of my intention to seek legal actions. Attached is a copy of the separation agreement, and Final Judgment and I will be pleased to provide further information on this case on request. I desire to
retain your law firm, please forward your firm’s retainer fee agreement so that we can proceed. Thank you and have a pleasant day.
Regards,
Fumiko Anderson
3-6-23 Karashimacho,Chuo-ku,Kumamoto. City 860-0804
Phone: +81 (0) 505 809-8190
Fumiko Bill_Anderson_Separation
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.
September 04, 2013 at 3:01 pm, Gary Tucker said:
I received this exact scam yesterday but this Mr. Anderson lives here in Dallas where I am. I just replied with a link to this page.
September 04, 2013 at 7:58 pm, Shane said:
I received these emails in Louisiana, and the fraudster even signed a retainer agreement.
September 05, 2013 at 9:57 pm, Mike said:
Well, this fellow travels. I received these emails in Philadelphia. Thanks for the posting.
September 06, 2013 at 1:33 pm, James McCartney said:
I received these emails in New Jersey, and the fraudster also signed a retainer agreement. I, too, have declined to represent her and sent a link to this page.
September 08, 2013 at 8:40 pm, Francis said:
Just received Fumiko’s request in Fort Worth, Texas! I smelled a rat and did a google search and came to this website.
September 09, 2013 at 10:41 am, Mary said:
My Law Office in Chicago was approached by this scammer, looked suspicious.
September 09, 2013 at 11:00 am, Rachael said:
Our office received a version of this email – twice – in St. Petersburg Florida. Glad to know this has officially been flagged as fake. Thank you all.
September 09, 2013 at 1:26 pm, Jason said:
I just received this email over the weekend as well in CA. Much like the others, I googled the name and was directed to this site.
September 10, 2013 at 3:05 pm, Dan said:
Got one in Wisconsin too. I did the same as Mr. Tucker above and replied with a link to this page.
September 10, 2013 at 3:41 pm, Bill & Kathy said:
(Virginia) We received this email on September 2, 2013 and subsequent emails from Fumiko Anderson using the email address of [email protected]. The scammer signed a retainer agreement. We googled the name along with scam and we were prompted to this site. Thank you.
September 10, 2013 at 4:26 pm, Travis said:
I just received the same here in Indiana. Unbelievable.
September 11, 2013 at 3:02 pm, Doug Graham said:
How can you people criticize this poor single mother this way? She’s so pretty in her passport picture. Don’t you think you’re being a bit too suspicious just because her Japanese divorce judgment is witnessed by two people with Chinese names, is written in English, doesn’t use the proper name of the husband, and makes no provision whatsoever for visitation of the children? Give her a break!
September 12, 2013 at 11:19 am, Scott Hill said:
I just got this one in Arkansas. At least this Spammer is smart enough to not use the redirected e-mail as that is a dead give-away of phishing. Has anyone contacted iprimus.au.com about the fraud?
September 12, 2013 at 11:40 am, Cyrus Sanai said:
I just got the full response with passport photo after the scammer kept emailing me. I’ll reply with a link to this page and some other unlucky woman’s passport will be used.
September 12, 2013 at 1:47 pm, Sarah B. said:
I received these emails in Bloomington Indiana.
September 15, 2013 at 2:54 pm, Olga Cabrera said:
Just got one in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I am glad to have found this information.
September 16, 2013 at 10:29 am, Walter said:
Full text of the version I received:
From: [email protected]
Date: September 16, 2013, 10:03:08 AM EDT
Subject: Fumiko Case:
My Ex Husband has violated court oder in payment of child, spousal and medical
support. Please, advise if you handle such case.
Please reply to [email protected] if you handle such case.
Regards,
Fumiko Anderson
September 16, 2013 at 12:27 pm, John Rogers said:
Received this email message twice. Looked suspicious so I did not respond. Thanks for confirming my suspicions.
September 16, 2013 at 1:55 pm, Kristy said:
This has made it to Minnesota as well…
September 16, 2013 at 2:08 pm, Jon Nathan said:
I also received an email from this “person”. They also signed an agreement, but refused to pay the retainer as I requested. In order to avoid these types of scams I set up a paypal account for anyone to pay me that is not requesting my services in person. Scammers typically will not go through the hassle of also defrauding Paypal. I declined to represent “her” and also included a copy of this site in my response.
September 16, 2013 at 4:35 pm, Jeffrey W. Waller said:
I just received this one in Huntington, New York.
September 16, 2013 at 5:01 pm, Ellis Saull said:
Several e-mails back and forth from “Fumiko.” Passport and English-translated divorce decree and agreement included. Exact same patter as above, i.e. 13 hour difference, can’t call. Asked for name of my bank, I said, cannot give you that. This a.m., received “cashier’s check” from “ex” (Bill Anderson) in my locality, immediately after an e-mail from “Fumiko” telling me to deposit it, take out retainer figure I had quoted, await further instructions. Check was for $297,500, and was, of course, worthless. I believe they asked for my bank name so that they could be sure that they were sending me a fake check NOT from my bank, so that, presumably, I would accept it as valid. Other, earlier red-flags included “Fumiko” advising that her several days of response time was due to a seriously ill son, who later, in a subsequent e-mail, was described as a seriously ill daughter with cardi-myopathy. Letter from “Bill Anderson” has no telephone number, no address, and some strange phraseology. Seeing all of these other comments, it seems they keep trying, hoping to bat .100.
September 16, 2013 at 11:52 pm, Kristen said:
Made it’s way to Kentucky now! Just received one tonight.
September 17, 2013 at 9:15 am, James Hancock, Jr. said:
I received these email in South Carolina. She sent me the attachments including passport, separation agreement and order
September 17, 2013 at 11:12 am, Cathy said:
Just received Fumiko’s request in Johannesburg, South Africa! I did a google search and came to this website. Thank you, I shall be deleting forthwith!
September 17, 2013 at 3:17 pm, J.D. Rhoades said:
Just got one here in little ol’ Carthage, NC. Heady stuff for a simple country lawyer.
September 17, 2013 at 6:31 pm, Laura Nolen said:
I was also contacted by this “Fumiko Anderson”. So glad to have found this website! Thanks!
September 17, 2013 at 6:32 pm, Laura Nolen said:
oh and I am in Minnesota where the name Anderson is most common!
September 18, 2013 at 11:22 am, Mark Stopa said:
Received the same email and follow-up documentation. Something did not smell right – did a search and found this site.
Count Massachusetts as one of the jurisdictions hit.
September 18, 2013 at 12:20 pm, Sue Adler said:
I received the same solicitation here in Albany, NY. I really appreciate everyone going online to publish this scam. How treacherous things were before the internet!
September 18, 2013 at 1:37 pm, Chicago Fam Lawyers said:
What? This isn’t real? Dang it. No big fall bonuses around here, after all. We are letting her know that we will be sending someone to meet with her, and pick up the retainer – in cash. They will be waiting outside her residence. Glad to provide personal service.
September 18, 2013 at 5:21 pm, JPR said:
I am in a the sleepy state of Connecticut in the Shelton area and received this same scam letter.
September 19, 2013 at 2:03 pm, Joe said:
When I received this email in a small town in Indiana, the biggest red flag was the amount of the settlement – almost a million dollars – in a town with a median income of about $31,000! I should be in whatever business Mr. Anderson is in.
September 20, 2013 at 11:33 am, New Jersey Firm said:
Thanks for posting. Sounded suspicious so did a search online and found this site. Thank you!
September 23, 2013 at 10:50 am, Doug Graham said:
From Chicago: Fumiko* sent me her 4th solicitation last week, so I sent her a contract and requested a retainer. In a previous email, she was having trouble with her English, but over the past month she’s learned perfect English grammar. Now, like Mr. Saull, above, she wants the name of my bank; I told her she didn’t need it to send me a retainer check. To answer Joe’s question, above, Mr. Anderson is a surgeon. (OK, Dr. Anderson)
I’m having fun with this. I suspect that she’s well aware of this web site; it comes up if she just googles her name.
*or whoever
September 24, 2013 at 11:29 am, PMN said:
Count South Jersey in as well. I received the e-mail and being a bit suspicious, sent a series of questions asking for some more details, but was put off by”Fumiko”. In the meantime, I searched for the scam possibility and found this site. So, “Fumiko” is on her own again.
September 30, 2013 at 12:28 pm, JDB said:
Received email and knew something was “off” with the inquiry. Googled her and found this site. Replied with a link and let her know that I knew several good attorneys that could represent her for fraud for approximately $350 an hour. No reply, yet. Will keep you posted.
September 30, 2013 at 1:06 pm, Dr Carlos Colmenero said:
The scam is becoming international now!!
I am an Uruguayan Attorney and I have just received the following email from:
[email protected]
12:48 PM (1 hour ago)
I need your legal representation to help me file a petition against
my ex-husband for violating a court oder in payment of child, spousal and
medical support. Kindly advise.
Regards,
Fumiko Anderson
[email protected]
I did not even response to it therefore I missed all the documentation stuff … shame on me and technolgy!! I did not have the fun of interacting with these people.
September 30, 2013 at 2:42 pm, Gen said:
She almost got me here in San Diego!!! Good thing I noticed she can’t spell her own name in her email. That and her English reminds me of the former queen from Nigeria who wants my bank account number so I can shelter her husband’s millions.
September 30, 2013 at 7:58 pm, GLW said:
San Diego too.
October 01, 2013 at 12:41 am, ved mishra said:
I received this mail yesterday. I m no more in law practice and have joined govt. service. Thanks for posting. I dont know how they get the email ids.
Ved Mishra, LL.M
October 01, 2013 at 10:35 am, OAL said:
Fumiko Anderson just touched down in NJ. We should all consider reporting to IC3.gov.
Does anyone know how to submit a tip on this site? I have a perfect one for a separate post. Very realistic. Fumiko is an amateur compared to that one.
October 01, 2013 at 12:24 pm, ljs said:
Syracuse too
October 01, 2013 at 12:51 pm, Phyllis said:
Received it yesterday and today in Alameda, California. I recognized it from a similar one last year, perhaps Rina Walton.
October 01, 2013 at 1:42 pm, Phil said:
Received the e-mail today in Pittsburgh, PA.
October 01, 2013 at 2:12 pm, HSJ said:
Wow! She got me in Brooklyn, NY on a referral from an attorney I know! Even received a check from Bill who now resides in Brooklyn. When she returned an email to me at 3:15 PM, New York time – 4:15 AM Tokyo time – I became suspicious. When she told me to keep my retainer fee and to immediately send funds to her as her daughter was in hospital and did not respond to my suggestion that Bill send the funds to her directly I GOOGLED her name!!! WOW again! I am thinking of giving up my email and fax and going back to snail-mail only!!
October 02, 2013 at 9:31 am, Jason Cardona said:
Just received an email today today from the same person asking me to represent her. I’m not an attorney, I just enforce court orders as a constable so I found it suspicious and googled the email address and was directed to this site. Thanks a bunch everyone for reporting this.
Jason Cardona
The SERVICE
Owner/Operator
October 02, 2013 at 11:21 am, JJ said:
Biggest red flag was the documents stating that they are from Kumamoto, Japan, when the documents themselves have korean characters all over it, not japanese.
October 02, 2013 at 2:33 pm, TimLemieux said:
You can email any tips or anything related to these frauds to [email protected] Thanks
October 02, 2013 at 3:54 pm, Suzanne said:
Now in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She gets around!