Scams targeting law firms are everywhere. Running a law firm is a lot of work, but finding out you are helping people can be very rewarding.

It feels good when someone contacts us and says they have family court in the morning (super late notice), and we can meet the demand. However, being a law firm also attracts some bad people.

Law firms are vulnerable to various scams that can have severe consequences. These schemes are designed to steal sensitive information or funds and can take many forms, including fake invoicing, trust account fraud, email phishing, malware attacks, and impersonation.

The Rise of Scams in the Legal Sector: A Growing Concern

Scammers may send fraudulent invoices, pose as clients to request trust account transfers or use phishing emails to trick law firm employees into revealing confidential information.

Malware attacks are another common tactic in which cybercriminals infect law firm computer systems with malware, such as ransomware or spyware, to steal confidential data or demand payment to release it. Impersonation scams are also prevalent, in which fraudsters impersonate lawyers, clients, or other parties to gain access to confidential information or commit fraud.

Safeguard against these scams

To safeguard against these scams, law firms must adopt robust security measures, train employees to detect potential scams and verify the identity of anyone requesting sensitive information or financial transactions.

Law firms should also educate themselves on common scams, stay abreast of new threats, and have a plan to respond to a potential breach. These proactive steps can help law firms reduce their exposure to scams and protect their client’s sensitive information and funds.

Scammers target law firms, hoping to gain access to trust accounts. Below is a standard email we get. Even though the client’s name and passport were fake, I changed the information.

Scams Targeting Law Firms

We have received scams from people who claim to be South Korean women. The passports were likely stolen, maybe from a tourist destination.

Scammers annoy me because they try to exploit intelligent people (lawyers). How many lawyers fall for this?!
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Scam message 1:

Hello,

My name is Mr. Kim. I am writing you this email regarding the email I got from my ex-wife, Rebecca. I know there has been some default regarding keeping to the “Settlement agreement” and remitting funds to my ex as I agreed upon.

However, I cannot agree with this agreement due to the economic meltdown. Please note that I do not want to go to court or face litigation. Please pause all legal action at the moment

Therefore, regarding your client, I am willing to send you a partial payment of $385,972.80 from my savings to avoid litigation. I intend to pay the balance in two weeks from the day of my first disbursement to you.

Please be considerate and accept my offer. If the payment is not received at your end as promised, you can proceed with legal action. As I will keep to my promise for the balance l owe, please forward your mail address below so I can receive the partial payment.

As I will keep to my promise for the balanced l Own, advanced said information below to proceed with the first payment:

Your full name as it will appear on the Check

Please indicate your Bank Name:

Address:

Telephone:

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Phishing Schemes Aimed at Lawyers: Recognizing the Red Flags

They always start with small requests. But sure enough, the conversation switches to our law firm’s trust account. Why would they send me an email asking me for my full name? And why are they going to make a cheque out to me personally, not my law firm in trust?

Here is another example of scams targeting law firms…

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I am contacting your firm regarding a divorce settlement with my ex-husband. I would be grateful for your assistance or a referral if this is not your area of practice.

(They don’t know if we divorce even though our website discusses family law everywhere.)

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Bogus Client Inquiries: How Fraudsters Pose as Potential Clients

Scam message 2:

Thanks for your response to my inquiry. Please bear with me. Calling overseas from South Korea is very high and expensive, so I can not call on the phone for 30, 60, or 90 for so long with your firm. It will be very high over here. I would love your office to proceed by email, or you can call me and add all charges to the retainer agreement letter.

I am a South Korean citizen, and my ex-spouse is a Canadian citizen (Ontario, Canada). We were divorced in South Korea, but my ex-husband relocated to Canada.

I request your legal services to enforce the court order compelling him to remit the balance owed me

Below is my name and the opposing parties’ information. A copy of the judgment obtained and the separation Agreement are attached for your review. Please run a conflict check, advise us on your standard retainer fee, and forward your retainer letter for signing.

My Full Name: xxx Kim

My Mobile Number: xxxx

Ex-husband’s full name: xxx Kim
Ex-husband’s email address: xxx@hotmail.com

I look forward to working with you on this matter,

Warmest Regards,
xxx Kim.

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Ransomware Attacks on Law Firms: Protecting Sensitive Client Data

Scam message 3:

Thanks for the update. Notify me that my Ex husband is responding to payment through your help; this is good news; please proceed
I remain unwavering in this potential legal matter because he has made such promises.

He relocated to his country two years after the divorce but kept promising and failed to pay. Has he promised my ex-spouse that he can pay the funds? I believe a Law firm like yours is needed to help me collect this payment from my ex-husband or litigate this matter if he fails to pay as promised.

Please once you have received the partial payment deposit it and deduct your fee from the sum, He promises to pay the balance within a couple of weeks.

Please, we should pause all legal action at the moment. Let’s wait 5 to 10 business days. If the payment is not received at your end, we will go ahead with the legal action.

Tell me what to do. Thanks.

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As you can see, it’s all nonsense. The client is willing to fill out a retainer agreement (without payment information) and provide a fake and/or stolen passport.

Requested that the first cheque come into our office

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Rebecca,

We have requested that the first cheque will come into our office, by January 31 (this Thursday), to be paid into our Ontario trust acct.

Once we receive said cheque, we will keep our flat fee payment of $11,550.00, inclusive of disbursements and taxes. We will then immediately provide you with the remainder of the funds from this first installment.

Once we receive the first cheque, I will email you more details, and we can discuss whether you would like to come to pick up the cheque or have it mailed to you. Given that it is a large sum of money, I suggest picking it up in person. 

Moving forward, the next installments can come into our trust account and then be paid out in full to you. If you prefer, we can request that they be mailed directly to you after this first installment is collected and for the remainder of the payments. We can discuss this after receiving the first payment.

If you have any further questions, let me know.

I will inform you once we have received the first cheque. As requested, I hope he will provide us with it by this Thursday, January 31, 2019.

Don’t let these people get any money and void scams.

Invoice Scams: How Law Firms Are Tricked into Making False Payments

Scam June 25, 2019 update…

We received yet another lawyer scam, this time from the same sender. This time, I replied to have a little fun.

Scam message 4:

Good day,

I am requesting your assistance in pursuing a $565,000.00 debt owed to me by my late wife’s brother, NAME.

I need a lawyer to help me enforce our agreement and force him to pay back what he owes me.

Please get in touch with me by email if this is something you can help me with.

Thanks

NAME

I responded with…
“Hi NAME,
We need your ID, credit card information, and a $5000 retainer on your credit card.
Thanks.”

Scams Targeting Law Firms

Lawyer scam message 5:

Hello,

Thank you for the reply. My debtor’s name is NAME and he resides in Canada while I reside in Hong Kong. Attached is a copy of our loan agreement, which should explain the terms we agreed on while facilitating the loan. NAME owes me $565,000.00, but I initially gave him a total loan of $965,000.00. He has paid back $400,000.00.

In 2017, NAME came seeking financial assistance. He said he needed some money to invest in a new business venture he was embarking on, and with the constant insistence of my late wife (his sister) on assisting him, I had to oblige him with the loan.

After the death of NAME (my late wife and NAMES’s sister),  NAME became very distant. He wasn’t initially fully supporting our union, but he later accepted it.

I would be extremely glad if you could assist me with this problem. How much will it cost to retain your services?

Please send me a copy of your retainer agreement so I can review it.

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We hope you found this article on scams targeting law firms useful.