Holiday season is an appealing time for fraudsters to try their scams on law firms because of reduced staff and added distractions. Stay safe this holiday season and avoid becoming the next victim of a ransomware attack by watching this three-minute video by Director of Underwriting and Claims, Michael Mulhern.
Lawyers are also continuing to be hit hard with funds transfer frauds. You are at risk of being targeted in a funds transfer fraud any time you are transferring trust funds, so you must verify emailed instructions through phone or in-person contact. Using a checklist for every payment can help mitigate your risk.
If you plan to be away from the office, arrange for a competent lawyer to supervise your practice and ensure the lawyer and your staff will be compliant with the anti-money laundering obligations in the Law Society Rules Part 3, Division 11: Client Identification and Verification and BC Code rule 3.2-7.
Further, staff may not deal with trust funds, except in accordance with the Law Society Rules Part 3, Division 7: Trust Accounts and Other Client Property. Ensure you and your staff are aware of different scams, including the bad cheque scam (which has recently targeted a number of lawyers). Review the names and ruses fraudsters have attempted to use against BC lawyers.
Always think before your click. If you unexpectedly receive a link or attachment, even if it is from someone you know, call the sender using the telephone number you have on file (not the number listed in the message) to confirm the message is legitimate. If you open a link or attachment that you should have avoided, immediately call your IT professional, inform staff, and report the incident to the cyber insurer for law firms, Coalition, Inc. If you have questions about current scams targeting lawyers, you can contact Barbara Buchanan KC at bbuchanan@lsbc.org or 604.697.5816.