NEWS & EVENTS > LAWYER BEWARE - SCAM TARGETING LAWYERS
Lawyer Beware - Scam Targeting Lawyers
CONCORD, NH: July 15th, 2010: New Hampshire Attorney General Michael Delaney and Deputy Banking Commissioner Robert Fleury issued a consumer alert. According to the alert, two complaints have been received in two weeks regarding lawyers who were targeted by international scam artists. One New Hampshire attorney has already been scammed out of over $240,000 due to a counterfeit check.
The alert details both cases. "In the first case, a local attorney was retained, purportedly by a large company, for a collection matter. That attorney's client then claimed to have settled the matter on their own. A large settlement check was forwarded to the attorney, complete with a letter from local 'opposing counsel' on what was later determined to be fraudulent letterhead. Instructions were then sent to have settlement money wired to the client. The attorney was concerned and contacted 'opposing counsel.' The client did not know anything about the case. The check was deemed fraudulent. This attorney never wired the settlement money to the 'client' and suffered no monetary loss."
The results of the other case are much more troubling. In that case "a local attorney was 'retained' by a Chinese company via e-mail. The retainer was to be paid by one of the client's customers via bank check. The attorney received a very large check and deposited the check in an IOLTA account. The attorney then received wire transfer instructions. As a result, the bank verified that the funds were available. The attorney then wired approximately half of the total check amount to a 'supplier' of the client, per the client's instructions. Within days, the attorney learned that holds had been placed on all of his business, personal and joint accounts. The initial check he had received was deemed counterfeit. Since the depositor is responsible for checks deposited into the account, this attorney suffered a loss exceeding $240,000."
Both the State of New Hampshire and Forensicon urge all lawyers, law firms, and consumers in general to use caution when wiring funds and dealing with individuals strictly through electronic communications. Computer forensics, such as those that Forensicon excels in, may be used to solve this case.
Download a PDF of the news release here.
Visit the New Hampshire Department of Justice Website to learn more.
About Forensicon
Specializing in trade secrets, employment litigation, and internal
investigations, Forensicon is a computer forensics firm that provides
expertise to the top law firms in the U.S. as well as corporations large and
small. Forensicon offers nationwide computer forensics services for
plaintiff, defense, as well as special master neutral third party
representation. The firm has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies and
other large privately held corporations wanting to defend against or
prosecute claims of intellectual property theft. For more information,
contact Forensicon at 888.427.5667, email us at
contact@forensicon.com or visit
our web site at:
http://www.forensicon.com.
