Breach of IP agreement scam using the names Albert Gangolf and Daimon Verlag AG
Date First Reported: April 2014
Primary Name Associated: Albert Gangolf
Description of Potential Fraud:
Seven lawyers in Ontario and the U.S. have reported to us that they’ve been contacted by the purported Albert Gangolf of Daimon Verlag AG with regards to retaining their services to collect on a breach of an IP 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 party in breach of the agreement (who is also 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: Albert Gangolf [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2014 2:18 PM
To:
Subject: Legal Matter
Hello Attorney,
We are a Production, publishing and marketing company in Switzerland . We have a breach of intellectual property agreement matter in your jurisdiction, we can forward you the agreement and other party information for your review to enable you run a conflict check.
Yours Sincerely,
Albert Gangolf
Manager
Daimon Verlag AG
Hauptstr 85 8840 Einsiedeln
Einsiedeln Switzerland
+41225481670
[email protected]
http://www.daimon.ch/
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. Instructions on how to report a claim are here.
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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.
July 07, 2014 at 4:19 pm, richard c said:
English barrister just had a query from him/it. Already sent reply suggesting a proper informative email is sent as the initial approach seemed like a scam. Interesting to see that my gut reaction was eight.