Skip to main content

Online Frauds Now Targeting Lawyers

Lawyers need to beware of a new family-law twist on the ubiquitous email-check fraud scam. Reports indicate that numerous lawyers have been targeted by emailers who,assuming a false identity, say they need a lawyer to help them collect payments owed under a divorce agreement.

Typically the emailer claims to be an ex-wife owed money by the ex-husband under the agreement. When the lawyer takes the bait and agrees to the engagement, the “ex-husband” – actually the same scammer – sends the lawyer a “cashier’s check” for deposit into the lawyer’s account, with instructions to wire the collected funds to the ex-wife’s account. By the time the lawyer discovers the cashier’s check was counterfeit, it’s too late -- the unknown scam-artist is long gone with the wired funds from the lawyer’s account. These types of fraud activities are particularly busy before a major holiday.

There are many of these types of frauds that target lawyers, business people, and individuals. You should always be wary when someone you don't know wants you to accept a check and then immediately send funds to some far-away place. The check may be bogus but your bank will credit your account (pending clearing) and you will be able to send the funds out. When the check is finally bounced by the system, your account will be over-drawn and you will be in trouble with your own bank.

These scams always prey on your own greed. You will get a part of the money they are sending and you have a check in hand. Few people give away money for nothing and quick pay-offs are rare. Don't fall for these scams. Be on high alert at all times when online.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Clifton B. Kruse, Jr., Leading Elder Law Attorney, Dies at 74

Clifton B. Kruse , Jr., a revered elder law attorney who was admired as much for his kindness and generosity to fellow practitioners as for his grasp of the law, died December 30, 2008, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was 74. The cause was complications from Alzheimer's disease. For many in the field, Kruse set the standard for all that an elder law attorney can and should be. One of elder law's founding fathers, he combined a gentlemanly charm, warmth and caring with one of the sharpest and most ethical of legal minds. Wrote Arizona elder law attorney Robert Fleming in a tribute , "In my third of a century of elder law practice I have never met another lawyer who managed to pull together sophistication, heartfelt empathy, intellectual rigor and courtly manner in the same fashion Clifton Kruse projected. He did it, to all appearances, effortlessly. He was a friend and mentor to many in the elder law community (I count myself among those legions)." Kruse was the e...

Knee Surgery OK for Octogenarians

Knee replacement surgery can improve the quality of life even for very elderly patients, according to a study presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) . The study found that patients in their 80s can benefit both physically and socially from knee replacement surgery, also called total knee arthroplasty (TKA), once thought too risky for the very elderly. “As patients are living longer, there is an upward trend in the demand for quality of life among the elderly population,” said Edsel Arandia, M.D., lead author of the study and an orthopaedic surgeon at Philippine Orthopaedic Center and a Fellow at Singapore General Hospital. “As patients age, debilitating diseases like arthritis of the knee begin to develop. We conducted this study to determine the viability of TKA in octogenarians and to learn whether their quality of life improves after TKA.” Dr. Arandia and his team reviewed data from 128 patients older than 80 years of age wh...

IRS Announces Inflation Adjustments

The IRS announced that, for tax year 2012, personal exemptions and standard deductions will rise and tax brackets will widen due to inflation. The Service provided the following details: The value of each personal and dependent exemption, available to most taxpayers, is $3,800, up $100 from 2011. The new standard deduction is $11,900 for married couples filing a joint return, up $300, $5,950 for singles and married individuals filing separately, up $150, and $8,700 for heads of household, up $200. Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes.  Tax-bracket thresholds increase for each filing status. For a married couple filing a joint return, for example, the taxable-income threshold separating the 15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket is $70,700, up from $69,000 in 2011. For an estate of any decedent dying during calendar year 201...