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Bad Cheque Scams

Bad cheque scams targeting lawyers are very common.  They may involve debt or loan collection, spousal support collection, trademark and copyright infringement fraud, business equipment purchase fraud, real estate deposit fraud and many other types of matters.  The unscrupulous individual will contact you, usually by email, with a contrived scenario.  Their objective is to deposit a counterfeit cheque or bank draft in your firm's trust account.  They then typically will ask for immediate or quick payment from the money that you have collected and will have disappeared by the time you realize that the cheque is counterfeit.  Be cautious as there are some confirmed cases of this type of scam where lawyers were contacted in person. 

Common Characteristics Of Bad Cheque Scams

  • The initial contact is a generic email; they are looking for a lawyer who does the type of law they are seeking help with.
  • The fraudster is asking for help with a personal or debt collection matter.
  • The email address may be from a free service (for example, Gmail, Hotmail) even if the request is from a business.
  • There may be grammatical or spelling errors in the email message.
  • The client prefers email communication because of time zone differences.
  • The client is in control of the communication (he always contacts you).
  • The client is in a rush and pressures you to do your work quickly.
  • The client may be willing to pay higher fees or a bonus to have the work done quickly.
  • The payment amounts are higher than expected and may change without explanation.
  • The debtor pays after the first letter and with very little pushing.
  • The client instructs you to wire the funds as quickly as possible under curious or suspicious circumstances.
  • Some or all the funds are going to a third party who appears to be unrelated to the matter.
 
As in all cases where you have any doubt that the transaction or the client is legitimate, take the time to cross-check and verify the information that is provided to you by the client.  Use double quotes to search exact names and entities.  You may want to look up addresses using Street View.  You may want to contact the company directly to confirm that they are expecting a debtor’s payment.  Most importantly, do not let yourself be rushed by a client who says that the transfer of funds must be done immediately after you have received a payment from a debtor.  Hold the funds in your account until you receive confirmation that the cheque you deposited has been accepted and cleared by the bank.  Call the bank the cheque was drawn on if you have doubts.