Fraud alert from ISBA Mutual: Beware of checks from unknown prospective clients
Lawyers are increasingly receiving emails from alleged potential clients who supply legitimate looking but bogus checks and then develop reasons why some or all of the money has to be wire transferred to institutions or individuals who are usually in foreign countries. We expect these fraudulent activities to continue and we want to help our policyholders avoid these situations. While the checks are transmitted in a way that appears to be legitimate, they routinely turn out to be bogus.
The same scenario is common with each of these scams. The law firm receives what appears to be a cashier’s check drawn on a legitimate domestic or foreign bank from a prospective client for a legitimate sounding business purpose. The law firm deposits the check in their client trust account. Almost immediately, the firm is besieged by the prospective client with urgent requests to wire transfer some or all of the proceeds of the check to banks or other recipients usually in foreign countries for legitimate sounding emergency needs. The original check turns out to be bogus.
"Understanding the Juvenile Justice Process" and "Alternatives to Juvenile Detention," two half-hour programs presented by Illinois Law, will air on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago in August. Understanding the Juvenile Justice Process will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, August 2 and 16, and Alternatives to Juvenile Detention will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, August 9 and 23.
