In this scam, fraudsters pose as new clients seeking legal services that lawyers routinely provide. In reality, they have no genuine need for legal assistance and are not who they claim to be. Their objective is to persuade a lawyer to deposit a fraudulent certified cheque, bank draft, credit union official cheque or money order into a trust account. Once the funds appear to clear, the scammer pressures the lawyer to transfer the money electronically — typically before the financial institution discovers that the instrument is counterfeit or was worthless. A recent ruse of this scam involves transactions related to the purchase and sale of medical equipment. We recommend reviewing the names and ruses fraudsters have attempted to use against BC lawyers. If this scam has been attempted on you, please contact Barbara Buchanan, KC at bbuchanan@lsbc.org or 604.697.5816 and provide the details so that we are made aware of new twists and trends.
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