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Fraud

You transferred funds to the wrong account – what now?

Fraudsters try to trick lawyers into wiring funds to an account that the fraudster controls. Sometimes, they succeed, and the funds get into the hands of criminals. What do you do then? Below are some examples that have been reported to us: 1. A lawyer’s office received a last-minute redirection of monies payable on the… Read More »

Categories: 2022 June - After Covid 19, Articles, Could This Happen to You?, Cyber dangers, Disaster Planning, Fraud, Legal Technology

Watch for real estate frauds involving private mortgages

In a hot real estate market fraudsters are even more motivated than usual – there is a lot of money to be had and lawyers are common targets. LAWPRO is seeing a significant increase in the number of real estate frauds involving private mortgages. The frauds we are seeing are incredibly sophisticated. In some cases,… Read More »

Categories: Fraud, Online Only, Real Estate

Avoiding the wire fraud nightmare – what you need to know to protect yourself and your clients (2021)

Finding out that money you sent out of trust has gone missing is a lawyer’s worst nightmare. Unfortunately, we are seeing a rise in wire fraud efforts targeting law firms and their clients. Fraudsters have developed several ways to convince lawyers and law clerks to wire funds out of law firm trust accounts to fraudsters’… Read More »

Categories: CPD, CPD Cybersecurity & Fraud, Cyber dangers, Fraud, Legal Technology

Fraud for Shelter Update

With housing prices on the rise, more rigorous mortgage rules, and the resulting difficulty for some Ontarians to purchase property, real estate lawyers should be mindful of fraud for shelter. Fraud for shelter differs from traditional real estate frauds. Usually in a real estate fraud, the goal is to fraudulently sell the property or to… Read More »

Categories: Fraud, Online Only, Real Estate

Check your cheques: Five ways to spot fraudulent cheques

We have often written about the risk that lawyers will be targets of fraud. Sometimes these frauds use technology to confuse their targets, such as a personalized spear-phishing attack or ransomware schemes. But often these fraudulent schemes take on a more 20th century character. The use of counterfeit cheques or similar instruments is still a… Read More »

Categories: Fraud, TitlePLUS, Webzine

Paying attention to the fraud behind the curtain: Don’t get fooled by spoofed email addresses

fishing hook on mouse

We have written previously about the dangers associated with email spoofing and phishing schemes, where fraudsters will send fabricated emails purporting to be from a trusted colleague or third party in an effort to trick a lawyer or staff member into clicking on a dangerous link or downloading a dangerous attachment. These fraudulent schemes continue… Read More »

Categories: Cyber dangers, Fraud, Webzine

Land Acknowledgement

The offices of LAWPRO are located on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat peoples. Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. LAWPRO respects and acknowledges the histories, languages, knowledge systems, and cultures of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit nations.

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