Commercial equipment purchase scam using the names Robert Tan and Lam Construction
Description of Potential Fraud:
A Texas firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Robert Tan of Lam Construction looking to retain them with regards to making a large commercial purchase.
This appears to be 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 email received by the lawyer:
On Oct 13, 2015, at 5:03 PM, Robert Tan [email protected] wrote:
Hello Brittany
I want to inquire if your firm handles Purchase Transactions and Agreements. A referral will be welcome if this is not your area of practice.
Best Regards,
Robert Tan, Vice President
Lam Construction Company Ltd
Replying to the email brought this response:
This is a follow up email in regards to my request to you in my previous email; My company is in the process of selling one of its Dredgers. Please find below the name of the proposed buyer for your conflict check. I want to know your hourly rate for preparing a purchase agreement.
PROPOSED BUYER:
Gilbane Building Company
1331 Lamar St #1170, Houston,
TX 77010, United States
I await your prompt response.
Best Regards,
Robert Tan, Vice President
Lam Construction
Company Ltd
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 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.
October 26, 2015 at 12:46 pm, Alice said:
I received the same email as well. Please see below a true and correct copy.
Hello Alice
I want to inquire if your firm handles Purchase Transactions and Agreements. A referral will be welcome if this is not your area of practice.
Best Regards,
Robert Tan, Vice President
Lam Construction Company Ltd
First flag is I do not know anyone by the name of Robert Tan nor do I know how he may have retrieved my email address. Knowing that there is spam emails floating around, I decided to research to see if this email is a scam. Came across your website to confirm it is.
Thank you.
October 27, 2015 at 12:01 pm, Warren Norred said:
I was just contacted by this same scam group. I’ve asked for his phone number. One of us should take these guys down.
November 05, 2015 at 9:28 am, Mary McGrath said:
I received this email this morning from Robert Tan as follows:
Hello Mary
I want to inquire if your firm handles Purchase Transactions and Agreements. A referral will be welcome if this is not your area of practice.
Best Regards,
Robert Tan, Vice President
Lam Construction Company Ltd.
The email address is: [email protected]
November 12, 2015 at 2:15 am, Christine Reilly said:
Same here. Suspicious email so I did some research and found this webpage.
Received original email on November 9. Received this follow up on November 11:
This is a follow up email in regards to my request to you in my previous email; My company is in the process of selling one of its Dredgers. Please find below the name of the proposed buyer for your conflict check. I want to know your hourly rate for preparing a purchase agreement.
PROPOSED BUYER:
Clune Construction Company
350 South Grand Avenue Suite 1600
Los Angeles, CA 90071
I await your prompt response.
Best Regards,
Robert Tan, VP
Lam Construction
Company Ltd