Fraud Prevention
Ransomware warning for law firms from North Carolina insurance company
Lawyer’s Mutual of North Carolina has posted the following warning about law firms being targeted in “ransomware” scams. We’ve seen firms in Ontario fall victim to this type of cyber attack. You can read more about ransomware and other kinds of malware in this previous post. Put Your Hands in the Air and Give Me… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention, Legal TechnologyLAWPRO Tales of Horror: A U.S. court decision on a a bank’s duties to a firm in a bad cheque scam
Lawyer Ethics Alert Blogs has a post describing an Illinois appeals court case in which the court ruled that a law firm had no recourse against its financial institution in a counterfeit cheque matter. While the laws dealing with financial institutions in the U.S. are different than here, the takeaway for Ontario lawyers is to… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionWarning re: Claims exposure where private mortgage advance goes to third party
[The following is the text of a LAWPRO alert sent October 7, 2014. This post mirrors the alert, but includes samples of the new exemption clauses we have seen in claims files.] LAWPRO has become aware of a new exception to coverage in certain title insurance policies which could expose real estate practitioners to claims… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention, Real Estate, The TitlePLUS Program & Title InsuranceCautionary tale of a lawyer targetted for fraud by a paralegal of the same cultural background
In his article “Manage Malpractice Risk by Recognizing Cultural Diversity“, Lorne Shelson (Litigation Director & Counsel in the Specialty Claims Department at LAWPRO) gives five ‘culturally-based’ claims scenarios loosely based on real LAWPRO claims. Here is one scenario: A lawyer was both a member of a racialized community and first licensed as a lawyer in… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionHackers fast to take advantage of fears created by celebrity nude photo leak
This morning I got the following email, purportedly from Apple Support, telling me to take steps to update my Apple ID information: It is a text book example of a phishing scam – the very type of scam that was likely used for tricking some of the celebrities caught in the nude photo leak into… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionBe on the lookout for fraud as the Labour Day long weekend approaches
On several occasions in the past, fraudsters have struck just before long weekends – a time when law firms are short-staffed and banks are closed an extra day. A long weekend creates circumstances that give the fraudsters a better chance of duping the lawyer and getting away before the fraud is discovered. Please be extra… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionTitle Company May Appeal Ruling in Cyber Crime Case to U.S. Supreme Court
The American Land Titles Assocation reported on a case invovling a U.S. escrow company that had its bank account hacked by cyber criminals. While Canada doesn’t have escrow companies of this kind, it still serves as a lesson in what can happen if law firms don’t take adequate steps to protect against cyber attacks on… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionKeeping your passwords strong and secure
Computer passwords are the keys that “unlock” our computer and network systems. We all have more passwords than we can remember. This tends to make us a bit lazy. We use obvious and easy-to-remember passwords – even the word “password” itself. Or worse: we don’t use them at all. Bad password habits are often one… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention, Technology