Fraud Prevention
Ontario firm narrowly avoids $500,000 email & phone hack attempt
An Ontario lawyer called to inform us of what appears to be an email hack attempt (similar to what is described here) against his firm and one of his clients, with the goal of diverting closing funds from a transaction into a different bank account. An email to the client appeared to come from this… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionLAWPRO Magazine archives: Funds handling – and the benefits of wire transfers
The recent increase in the number of frauds – many involving counterfeit financial instruments – have been a wake-up call to the bar on two fronts: First – fraudsters are targeting all lawyers, not only real estate practitioners. For more on this, see LAWPRO’s Fraud Fact Sheet. Second – that there is some confusion about… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionNew Phishing Attack Pretends to Be Bar Communication
The following warning was issued by Lawyers Mutual of North Carolina. We haven’t had any reports of this in Ontario yet, but lawyers should always be alert to phishing scams that try to trick them into opening an attachment or clicking a link that could instal malware. There is a new phishing scam targeting bar… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionBeware of shelter fraud in real estate transactions
In the September 2010 issue of LAWPRO Magazine, we asked our claims counsel about what they feel are the biggest malpractice hazards in each area of law based on the claims files they work on every day. Here is an excerpt from that article dealing with clients who urge a quick settlement. Click here to… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionDanger: When a hacker emails you instructions in the name of your client
The determination and energy of hackers knows no bounds. They show remarkable imagination and ingenuity in coming up with ever more devious ways to steal trust funds by duping lawyers. As an example of this, we have recently seen several instances where a fraudster hacked into a client’s email with the intent to divert funds… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention, TechnologyTexas lawyer arrested in relation to email frauds targeting law firms
The ABA Journal has reported that a Texas lawyer was arrested in relation to email debt collection frauds that have been plaguing law firms in recent years. The lawyer appears to have been running the fraud as part of an international criminal gang targeting lawyers in several countries, which matches information we’ve seen from a… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionAre you putting your clients’ data at risk?
Sam Glover in The Lawyerist blog asks whether lawyers are making reasonable efforts to protect confidential client data his column 4 Ways Your Are Putting Your Client’s Information at Risk. What are reasonable efforts? Here are the four moderately easy steps lawyers can take to secure the information that has been entrusted to them (for… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention, TechnologyListen to an Ontario lawyer’s recorded conversation with a fraudster
Ottawa lawyer J.L. Lee Mullowney informed us that he was contacted by the purported Thomas Moss looking to retain him with regards to a breach of a business loan agreement. Well aware that he was being targeted for a fraud, Mr Mullowney called the fraudster up to challenge him on a number of incongruities on… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention