The threats facing the law profession continue to evolve. Most recently, some lawyers and law firms have faced fake client and counterfeit check scams.
The scheme has resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the trust fund accounts of law practices, and some lawyers have faced claims, lawsuits and fines from banks, clients and regulators.
Worst of all, not all
More and more, scammers are targeting lawyers by sending forged emails to law firms, clients and financial institutions. These wire fraud scams typically involves a compromised email account, which can be the lawyer’s, the client’s or even the bank’s. Scammers monitor the account to uncover pending transactions, such as a real estate purchase, a loan or the settlement of a lawsuit.
At the
Respected security professionals have compared email to postcards written in pencil—they can be viewed or altered by third parties easily.
Hackers are targeting law firms to steal sensitive client information more and more. A security breach can diminish your firm’s reputation and can also have serious legal and financial ramifications.
It is also ethically required for attorneys to take reasonable measures to safeguard information
Protect yourself with a double security protocol and remember to never send a wire based upon an email alone.
Fraudsters continue to successfully misdirect wire transfers by inserting themselves into email exchanges between parties of real estate and other transactions. Sophisticated fraudsters, however, are no longer just hacking a real estate broker or law firm’s computer server to commit this wire fraud. Fraudsters