Tag: email scams

Lawyers Beware: New E-Mail Scams Using Fake E-mails Target (and Catch) Local Law Firm

I’ve talked about the new versions of the Nigerian e-mail scams targeting lawyers, but now there’s an even newer scam that lawyers need to be aware of.

This new threat, referred to as a “Business Email Compromise” scheme, entails a hacker breaking into the lawyer’s email account, monitoring the emails for some period of time, and waiting for a transaction involving a wire transfer to be discussed.

Once a transaction is identified, the scammer will then send a fake email (using a slightly modified e-mail address) that appears legitimate (at a glance) from one of the parties, but directs the party holding the funds to wire those funds to a different account than previously discussed. This new account is one controlled by the scammer.

If you think this can’t happen to you, then read this Complaint filed in Davidson County Chancery Court on April 26, 2016 (link here: 201604271031.). In that lawsuit, the scammers diverted nearly $900,000 from two property closings in March 2016 using emails that were slight variations of the real accounts.

Instead of “flippin@click1.net”, they used “flippin@cliick1.net”; Instead of “richardbacon50@comcast.net”, they used “richardbacon50@comcastt.co.”

Using these fake email accounts, the scammers sent the closing agent “follow-up” emails, presenting new wire recipient account information. By the time the fraud was discovered, the money was gone, and the only parties left to sue were–you guessed it–the closing attorneys who didn’t notice the changes in the emails.

Here are some red flags to watch for:

  • A last second change in wire instructions;
  • The change in wire instructions is made only via email;
  • A request that funds be released earlier or on an expedited basis;
  • The request uses broken English or bad grammar;
  • The new wire instructions uses an offshore institution or an institution you’ve never heard of; or
  • The new wire instructions involves payment to a person/party not previously in the transaction.

Some best practices in these situations are to:

  • Include wire instructions as part of, attached, and incorporated into the settlement statement personally executed by the parties; and
  • Before wiring any funds, verify the accuracy of the existing (or new) wire transfer instructions by a telephone call to the proper party receiving the funds (not the potentially fraudulent address on the e-mail or potentially fraudulent telephone number included in the e-mail).

As lawyers incorporate new technologies into their practices, so do the ways that scammers can use that technology against lawyers. Watch out.

Beware Email Scams Targeting Lawyers: Tune in to My CLE and Save yourself $500,000

One of the reasons I have this blog is for people like you, potential client, to find me online and hire me for your Nashville and Tennessee legal needs. I cast a wide net and hope Google notices, and so it’s no surprise when I get calls from remote parts of the country–or world–asking me for help.

Many of the inquires I receive are not relevant–people looking to me to help them stop foreclosures. Many are potential scams from fake overseas clients. What I’ve noticed in the 5 years that I’ve kept this blog is the increasing sophistication of these scam client inquiries. No longer are they in broken English and as transparent as a glass of water.

Nowadays, the scammers are pretending to be part of real companies (or elaborately created fake companies), in deals that are designed to trick and trap lawyers into falling victim and processing forged cashiers checks.

If you think this can’t happen to you, as a simple Nashville lawyer, well, I’ve got just the CLE for you.

Working with OutkickCLE (the lawyer CLE arm of the Clay Travis sports media empire), I’ve presented a course called Most Distinguished Sir or Madam: This CLE Will Make You Rich!  In the CLE, I discuss actual e-mail scam referrals that I’ve received, the red flags I’ve learned to look for in dealing with these scammer clients, and what to do when a suspicious client emails you.

It’s a fun CLE, discussing the history of these scams, but it’s also a dead serious CLE, discussing how these scammers have stepped up their game, to the point to where lawyers are increasingly falling for the tricks. This may be the most useful CLE you’ve listened to in years.