Fraud Prevention
Danger: 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 PreventionWarning: Beware of changes made to payment instructions in real estate transactions
The North Carolina State Bar sent out a warning to its members to beware of changes in payment instructions in real estate transactions. Scammers there hacked or faked the accounts of realtors and sent altered wiring instructions. They could also try to impersonate clients or other firms. (In a previous post about fake emails from… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionScam calls to lawyers claiming to offer a new service from Rogers
An Ontario lawyer advised that he got a call from someone purporting to be from Rogers, inviting him to participate in a new website offered by Rogers for commercial leasing lawyers to help them increase their business. The lawyer asked him for more information, but the person insisted that he log on to a website,… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionEmail scam targets firm members with access to bank accounts
A number of firms have reported a new kind of scam targeting firm staff that have access to bank accounts. The scenarios have all been slightly different, but the common aspect appears to be using legitimate email addresses of senior firm members to dupe another member of the firm staff (or other firm) into either… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionThe Average Lawyer Is 90% More Skeptical Than Everyone Else: what this means for your clients, your colleagues, and your firm.
A skeptical lawyer is a good lawyer. He scrutinizes every line in a contract. He questions the opposing party’s arguments. He looks for hidden motives. He looks at the law with a critical eye. His legal decisions are guided by a healthy pessimism, which helps him guard against mistakes. At the same time, a skeptical… Read More »
Categories: Career Management, Diversity, Fraud Prevention, Law Practice Management, Practice Aids, Wellness and Balance