Several bar associations are warning their members to be aware of financially-devastating scams being carried out against lawyers, especially solo practitioners. According to the ABA Journal, at least one small firm found out the hard way to the tune of $400,000. The scam is familiar to those of us who have received e-mail requests from overseas companies seeking help collecting a debt in the U.S. Personally, I have not responded to these e-mails, and I hope the word is now spreading to all lawyers--don't be suckered in even if the response you may receive seems to be genuine. Take time to really check them out: Ask for more details. Confirm identities. Ask for documents. Still, be very leary.
PracticePRO, the claims prevention arm of LawPRO in Ontario, Canada, has issued several fraud alerts including one just yesterday in advance of the Canada Day holiday. With our own July 4th Independence Day three-day weekend, we can learn much from our Canadian colleagues. The business loan scam seems to be the most popular one against solos these days, so beware.
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