Fraud
Recognizing the red flags of real estate scams involving corporate identity theft
Frauds targeting real estate lawyers are getting ever more sophisticated. LAWPRO has seen several attempted frauds involving corporate identity theft. The properties involved may be commercial or residential, but are always owned by a corporation. How these frauds work These frauds start with the fraudsters changing or stealing the identity of corporate property owners. This… Read More »
Categories: 2018 February Top Legal Disruptions, Areas of Law, Articles, Content Type, Fraud, LAWPRO Magazine, LAWPRO Magazine Article Type, Malpractice Errors, Real Estate, Title insurance, TitlePLUS, TopicsEvery day you help prevent money laundering
Pay attention to lender instructions on verifying the identification of individuals or corporations Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (“FINTRAC”) has recently changed the identification verification requirements for financial institutions to fulfill their obligations under Canada’s anti-money laundering legislation Financial institutions rely on lawyers to verify the identification of individuals as part of… Read More »
Categories: FraudLocked Down: Information Security for Lawyers
Sharon D. Nelson, David G. Ries, John W. Simek. published 2016 In the four years since the initial publication of Locked Down, data security has exploded as a concern for law firms. At the time, many attorneys were not paying attention to data security. But with the growing number of data breaches, no attorney can… Read More »
Categories: Book, Cyber dangers, Fraud, Legal TechnologyCybersecurity Handbook: A Resource for Attorneys, Law Firms, and Business Professionals
Jill D. Rhodes and Vincent I. Polley, published 2013, 299 pages The ABA Cybersecurity Handbook: A Resource for Attorneys, Law Firms and Business Professionals provides practical cyber threat information, guidance, and strategies to lawyers and law firms of all sizes. The guide considers the interrelationship between lawyer and client, establishing what legal responsibilities and professional… Read More »
Categories: Book, Cyber dangers, Disaster Planning, Fraud, Legal TechnologyFraud Alert: Email funds transfer fraud targeting Ontario lawyers
LAWPRO has received multiple reports of an email funds transfer fraud targeting Ontario lawyers. Given the similarity of the conversations and the email addresses that are being used, we believe it is the same individual(s) behind this fraud and that there are other firms that have been targeted today, and over the last few weeks…. Read More »
Categories: Alerts, FraudLocked Down: Practical Information Security for Lawyers, 2nd Edition
The first edition of Locked Down: Information Security for Lawyers was published in 2012. It introduced law firms to the increasing importance of having proper cybersecurity for client and firm data. At the time, that concept was still new to a lot of firms and often not taken as seriously as it should have been…. Read More »
Categories: 2017 February Neuroscience, Book Review, Cyber dangers, Fraud, LAWPRO Magazine, LAWPRO Magazine Article Type, Legal TechnologyNew lawyer cyber dangers and how to avoid them
Like the local bank, your practice holds valuable information and money. Your computer systems may contain client information, trade secrets, and intellectual property. Your trust accounts have large sums of money. A cyber breach or trust account theft will harm your clients and potentially cripple your practice. Security guards, specialized safes, and sophisticated procedures protect… Read More »
Categories: 2016 Student Issue 4, Articles, Cyber dangers, Fraud, Law students/new lawyers, Legal Technology, New Lawyers, Tech TipsDon’t take the bait on a spear phishing attack
By now, most lawyers are familiar with phishing attacks. For those who are not, phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an email. They take the form of a message, allegedly from your bank or an online retailer you… Read More »
Categories: 2016 January Indigenous, Articles, Cyber dangers, Fraud, Tech TipsDanger: When a hacker emails you instructions in the name of your client
The determination and energy of hackers knows no bounds. They show remarkable imagination and ingenuity in coming up with ever more devious ways to steal trust funds by duping lawyers. As an example of this, we have recently seen several instances where a fraudster hacked into a client’s email with the intent to divert funds… Read More »
Categories: 2016 January Indigenous, Articles, Cyber dangers, Fraud, Tech TipsDon’t slip down that slope! Don’t let personal issues lead you to bend the rules
At least two of the Law Society of Upper Canada’s discipline decisions in the last few months referenced a lawyer’s “loss of moral compass.” Even honest and well-intentioned lawyers have, when under pressure or when suffering from illness, addiction or a personal crisis, succumbed to the belief that it’s perfectly fine to bend the rules… Read More »
Categories: 2015 September Blue Sky, Articles, Could This Happen to You?, Difficult clients, Ethics, Fraud, Wellness