Fraud Prevention
Fraud warning from a U.S. title insurance company
This is a warning from a U.S. title insurance company, advising that fraudsters are impersonating the company in an attempt to get real estate lawyers to divulge bank account information. This is less of an issue for Canadian real estate lawyers who still handle the transfer of money themselves (rather than using title insurer software),… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionFraud emails now referencing the “Lawyer Referral Service”
The Law Society of Upper Canada has advised us that at least one Ontario lawyer has been targeted with a traditional bad cheque scam that indicated that the fraudster found the lawyer through the “Lawyer Referral Service”. This may be a new tactic to convince Ontario lawyers that the emails are legitimate. This particular fraud… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionLinkedIn password breach reported – change your LinkedIn password immediately [Updated]
A post on the TheNextWeb site indicates that a Norweigan IT webite, Dagens IT reported the breach. That site indicates that 6.5 million encrypted LinkedIn passwords have been posted to a Russian hacker site. LinkedIn has responded that they are looking into the breach. To be safe, LinkedIn users should change their passwords immediately. For… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention, TechnologyToronto area lawyer contacted on a “We built a website for you” hacking attempt
An Oakville lawyer advised us of a new scam that appears to be a brazen attempt to gain access to a law firm’s computers. Someone identifying himself as Mason Saunders called the firm this morning and asked to speak directly to the lawyer by name. He indicated to the lawyer that he was calling further… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionRe-fi fraud involving Scarborough property on Heaslip Terrace
A Toronto lawyer has advised us that he was retained last week on an attempted fraud involving a re-financing on a property on Heaslip Terrace in Scarborough. As the fraudsters are using the names of the real property owners, we are not disclosing the names being used or the address of the property. Early last… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionHuge collection of fake IDs, documents and cheques given to lawyers by fraudsters
Fraud attempts against lawyers can involve a great deal of counterfeit documentation, starting with the initial client ID (passports, licenses), various agreements, loan documents and bank statements, and ending with the cheque that finally arrives at the lawyer’s office. When we add posts about a fraud to the AvoidAClaim blog, we also provide images of… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionThe red flags of an email scam
Many email scams are obvious due to poor spelling, bad grammar and/or completely untenable fact circumstances (e.g., multi-million dollar lottery wins or inheritances). However, some of the email-based frauds LAWPRO is seeing are extremely sophisticated and look like completely legitimate legal matters. The more sophisticated frauds have temporarily fooled new and experienced lawyers into working… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionBusiness Financial Dispsute Scam by Shi Quen/Shi Yu of Luthai Textile Co. Ltd
In the first three weeks of April several Ontario lawyers have reported receiving an email seeking help on a financial dispute from the purported Shi Quen who claims to be the Chief Financial Officer of Luthai Textile Co. Ltd. Both initial contact emails are very short and are reproduced here: From: Luthai Textile – [email protected]… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention