Commercial debt collection scam using the names Takeo Yamamoto and Kanehira Steel
Date First Reported: June 2015
Primary Name Associated: Takeo Yamamoto
Description of Potential Fraud:
An Ontario firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Takeo Yamamoto of Kanehira Steel looking to retain them with regards to a commercial debt collection.
This is a 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 purchaser (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: Takeo Yamamoto [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: April-14-15 5:41 AM
Subject: Legal matter inquiry
Dear Attorney,
I am making an inquiry, Please do indicate if you handle commercial, contract or business related matters? And if this is not your area of practice, kindly refer me to an attorney who might be in a position to assist us with regards to the above mention areas of our needs.
Thank You
Takeo Yamamoto
Replying to the email brought this response:
Thank you for the response to my enquirer; it’s of great important to know your firms do handle such matters. Fristly ,let me quickly intimate you with matter requiring your services. Kenehira Steel Co.Ltd is a trading company and We engage in wholesale/direct retail sales of multi-service Steel and Aluminum products. The company’s head office is based in Osaka, Japan with office in the United Kingdom.
We sincerely wish to know if your firm services will be available in assisting us with a breach of contract and payment delay matter as it relate to our customer in your province. We have customers with overdue payment invoice who is yet to make full payment for the goods supplied in line with the agreement enter into. We have send out notification and remainder notice of the due payment. It is my belief that a Law firm likes yours is needed in a matter of this nature. We would want your firm to provide legal assistance in the area of our Account receivables collections as we sincerely wish to eliminate the delayed in receiving due payment for product supplied to our customers. We need your firm to issue demand notice when require or possible litigation and to bring actions in court against any customers now and in our future supplied since there is an agreement in place.
However, It will be important for me to point out that we necessarily do not have payment defaulters but we wish to being to bear that all invoice should be settle within the stipulated due date as litigation may be introduced as a last resort. Our expectation upon engaging your firm services will be within the scenario of payment remainder notice to any of our purchasers who are reluctant to settle their invoices as at when due. We believe this will trigger a positive response from them towards settling their outstanding invoices in a timely manner. Presently the overdue invoice amount to $891,939.66 only
We might be requiring your services on a long term contracts basis in view of our continuous trading with Canadian customers. However, you may wish to notify us of the requirement as to engaging your services. The documentation for any customer’s transaction and invoices will be provided at your request.
We have suffered so much loss as a result of payment which is being delayed by some of our customers and this has inversely affected our operations. Let us know the best way to have this issue tackled. Furthermore, we have concerns as we have always had a cordial and successful business relationship with our customers and we sincerely wish to maintain this relationship. And so,we do requires a cost-effective solutions utilizing a range of alternative dispute resolution if possible without having to resolve to litigation. But if ever litigation is involved, the distance gives us some concern with regards to court appearances. How can this and our receivables be handled by your firm? Do you charge on hourly basis or on a contingency fees basis? What are our responsibilities, what should we expect from you? Please advice on the best way possible as we will comply. A quick response will be appreciated.
Thanks
Takeo Yamamoto
President
KANEHIRA STEEL CO., LTD
TEL. +81-6-4560-4495
http://www.kanehira-steel.co.jp/
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.
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Fraud Fact SheetMore 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.
August 05, 2020 at 2:47 am, D said:
New one from Saiko Electrics, Yoshiko Satoshi
October 15, 2020 at 2:09 pm, F Flintstone said:
Mr Kazuaki Hakomori, President and Representative Director|United States and Canada
NAKAYAMA STEEL WORKS LTD. is at it again.
However, their offer to me was 10% commission and $8,000 per month.
Their first assignment just arrived in my email inbox and then, five minutes later, the ‘customer’ sends me an email asking for my bank info so that they can deal with the ‘modalities’ of getting the invoice paid ‘in my name’. How thoughtful.
Why is this customer so anxious to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars which they have owed for quite some time, according to the seller.
I look forward to seeing their check payment.
November 19, 2020 at 4:24 pm, Joe Fischer said:
Received an email from Tyler Gavin asking about whether I would be interested in a contract with his company. What followed was the typical 4,000 monthly and 5% commission from Nakayama Steel Works *signed by the president of the company. Company may be legit, but the person contacting me wasn’t obviously. Be wary of this scam using this information.
November 19, 2020 at 8:41 pm, Peter said:
I got the same thing from Mr. Hakamori last week. I played along like I was interested. Never gave him my bank info. The amount of money they are promising is insane…of course it is a scam
December 09, 2020 at 3:35 pm, Shannon said:
Many thanks for this email thread. I, too, received the Nakayama Steel email with the same details (5% of receivables collected plus allowance of $4,000 per month). Obviously, I will avoid this fraud and save my time and energy. Thanks for this public service.
February 05, 2021 at 1:56 pm, S bost said:
I received one this week from Howard Machinery, Ltd
April 30, 2021 at 4:12 pm, Kaitlyn said:
Well here is a new one their using, so beware!!!
Shing Lee Construction Machinery Co. Limited, has experienced exceptional growth over the years. The company has taken a step further in marketing on a global scale. Our recruiters came across your profile on LinkedIn Network, and you have been identified as a potential fit for the recent openings. We would like you to contribute to the company’s continued market domination as a Corporate Ambassador/Representative to the North America Branch. This is a partnership (contract) job opportunity on a part-time basis and it will not interfere with your present job or other business commitment and it also offers competitive salary and commissions.
For further inquiry, please respond and we will be happy to send you more detailed information
Best Regards,
Mrs., Susan Haruki,
Recruitment Consultant
For Human Resource Group,
Shing Lee Construction Machinery Co. Limited.
And of course offering me $4300/month and 5% commission….
I received a check for over $40k
May 12, 2021 at 6:41 pm, Sam Singh said:
Thanks for your mail. This is to confirm receipt of your email. Kindly review our concerns. Firstly, the purpose for which this partnership was created that entitles you to your 10% commission of any payment received and processed as well as your monthly stipend of $7,000 is to first, bridge the length in time it takes for payment sent from our customers (that make payment for goods supplied by CHECK) in North America to clear over here in Japan. “Your onus is to assist DAISEN SANGYO CO, LTD to communicate, establish a good relationship with the customer you are assigned to and also retrieve overdue Invoice (Payment) from the Company (Assigned customer to Agent) in North America Region. We have customers in different region in North America that have not met with the normal payment schedule of 30 days after receipt of products delivered in good condition. Based on our research and past experience, we have discovered that having an Agent in various region in the North America help to facilitates business transactions promptly”. It won’t take more than an hour of your time daily; this is what you can do on your own schedule. Please note that all payment is to be made directly to you as our representative in North America. Please i want you to know that the monthly allowance cannot be paid in advance, it will be paid at due date which will be 30 days after the date of accepting the Letter of Approval. We will be more than happy to have you as our representative in North America, kindly confirm if you are ready to proceed further to enable us forward a customer contact information to you.
I await your prompt response.
Regards,
Masataka Fukuda
President and CEO
DAISEN SANGYO CO, LTD.
March 28, 2022 at 10:23 am, Lonnie Hicks said:
Beware …another scam using Valin Steel. Checked WHOis records and the email domain is out of Russia. Sent me a memorandum of understanding offering $5000 a month plus 3% commission. A little pissed my scam offer was less than what was offered to others on here. Why wasn’t my scam offer as much! Insulting. Scam.
Hello (recipient)
Thank you for your email. Hunan Valin Steel Co., Ltd is an industrial company, engaged in the smelting, manufacture and sale of iron and steel products, our Company’s products include steel billets, seamless steel tubes, aluminum wire rods, and other metal products. Our head office is based in Hunan, China..
In line with our business organization, we wish to contract you to act as our company representative and contact point in the USA and Canada. We will be seeking to engage your services in the area of collaborative customer’s representative as our company financial coordinator in your region. Our aim is to project real time service delivery to our customers and more importantly, we wish to eliminate the delay in receiving check payment from our customers in North America by our local banks here in Asia which is approximately between 4-6weeks against a couple of days over there in North America.. This position does not require special skills and it’s like. We only require you to have Good planning and communication as well as your ability to be honest, reliable & dependable.
The main duties / responsibilities will be for you to;
Act as an intermediary between Hunan Valin Steel Co., Ltd and our customers in your region. Received payment from our customers in Canada and America, process and remit the same to the company while keeping records of payment received and payout. As our partner, you will be entitled to $5,000 USD monthly and (plus) 3% commission of any payment that is made to you from our customers and remitted through you.
The below information will be required for the purpose of drafting a working agreement (MOU) before commencement. if you do not have all this information, kindly indicate N/A where necessary.
Full Names:
Full Contact/Postal Address:
Company Name:
Position Held:
Tel and Fax Number:
We are eager to have a workable system in place as we have put customer’s due payment on the waiting list. We look forward to hearing from you with regards to the aforementioned
Thank you
Cao Huiquan
Chief Executive Officer
Hunan Valin Steel Co., Ltd
August 17, 2023 at 10:55 am, MJ said:
BEWARE!! Now they’re using a new company name called Kolugo Co Ltd
Thank you for your application for this position. KOKUGO Co., Ltd, is an industrial company, engaged in the manufacturing and selling of custom-order products and general standard rubber, plastic, and associated metal products. Our head office is based in Tokyo, Japan.
In line with our business organization, we wish to have a company representative and contact point in the USA and Canada. This position will not affect your current job, We will be seeking to engage your services in the area of financial coordinator as our representative in your region. We aim to project real-time service delivery to our customers. More importantly, we wish to eliminate the delay in receiving check payments from our customers in North America by our local banks here in Asia which is approximately between 4-6 weeks against a couple of days over there. This position requires you to have Good communication and accountability skills.
The main duties/responsibilities will be for you to;
-Act as an intermediary between KOKUGO Co., Ltd and our customers in your region.
-Manage the end-to-end accounts receivable process, including invoicing, payment tracking, and collections.
-Communicate with customers via email and phone to follow up on outstanding payments.
-Maintain accurate records of customer accounts, invoices, and payment history.
-Monitor and analyze accounts receivable data, prepare reports, and provide insights to management.
-Received payment from our customers in Canada and America, processed and remit the same to the company
As our partner, you will be entitled to $7,000 USD monthly and (plus) a 10% commission on any payment that is made to you from our customers and remitted through you.
If interested in moving forward, we kindly request that you click on the link below and fill out the application form to enable us to proceed.
Many thanks and kind Regards
Mr. Daigo Numaga
Recruitment Manager
KOKUGO Co., Ltd
25 Tomiyama-cho, Chiyodaku Tokyo, Japan