Kate Gibbs of the New Lawyer reports that
The Law Society of NSW has warned its members? about a scam in which a fake client? from Asia requests they advise them in a debt collection matter.
She writes:
Law firms have been landed with variations of the same scam, in which they are contacted by an overseas company, allegedly based in Japan, Mainland China or Hong Kong, requesting advice.
Just when law firms are more desperate for work in the global economic downturn, and are more likely to fall for such scams, the false clients are deliberately targeting bruised law practices.
“In one case the debtor company advised of had a brand in Australia and an email from the prospective client indicated that there has been agreement to a part payment of the debt,” the Law Society warns.
“Following the acceptance of the instructions an envelope arrived by express post at the practices, which contained a bank cheque drawn on a US bank for $US250,000 in one case and $US470,000 in another, as well as an invoice relating to the debtor and creditor companies. The cheques were deposited to the practice’s trust account,” it said last week.
See the full report here and remember just because they aren’t Nigerian doesn’t mean they aren’t dodgy
?
