Our friends at the Law Society of British Columbia recently published the following fraud alert. As you can see, fraudsters continue to become more sophisticated, even intercepting emails and telephone calls.
A BC law firm has fallen victim to the sophisticated "phony direction to pay" social engineering fraud (see the
July 6, 2017 Fraud alert
).
Here's what happened. The perpetrators hacked the firm's computer, and then monitored the firm's email traffic for some time before making their move. As soon as the lawyer was on holiday, the fraudsters appear to have sent an email – directly from the lawyer's own email account – urgently requesting that the lawyer's assistant immediately transfer funds to a client's bank account (in reality, the fraudsters' account). Although the assistant diligently attempted to reach the lawyer to confirm the instructions, the hackers intercepted and blocked her telephone calls. In addition, they responded to her email request to the lawyer to please telephone her by sending an email, again from the lawyer's account, advising that he was tied up and unable to speak. The funds were transferred, leaving the firm with a significant trust shortage.
Protect yourself. If there is any request to transfer funds or any change in payment instructions, consider the possibility that a fraudster is at work. Ensure every request is verified through direct, in-person contact with the author. Establish protocols for transferring funds and adhere to them. Find more detailed information about the social engineering scams that trick lawyers into willingly paying funds out of trust, as well as all of our tips to keep you safe,
here
.
And be sure to share this information, as well as our resources, with your key non-lawyer staff.
HOLIDAY ALERT: Be on high alert for scams during the holidays. Arrange for a competent lawyer to supervise your practice and provide your contact information to the lawyer and your staff.
Action to be taken:
If you believe you have received communications from any unauthorized person seeking to access client funds, please send an email to the
ALIAlert
mailbox and, if possible, provide the potential fraudster’s contact information.
The Alberta Lawyers Insurance Association provides the ALIAlert service to all Alberta lawyers participating in the insurance program. If you believe that you have been targeted by potential fraudulent activity, please contact
ALIAlert
so that we may alert other members of the profession and avoid losses that increase the cost of everyone’s insurance.
