Fraud
Don’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?, Ethics, Fraud, WellnessYou can rely on the register except when you can’t
As between innocent mortgagees, which has priority when a fraudulent discharge of a first mortgage makes way for additional mortgages? A fraudulent discharge is discovered After a “second mortgage” it issued to Brampton homeowners in December of 2012 went into default in February 2013, lender Secure Capital issued a notice of sale. CIBC, which believed… Read More »
Categories: Areas of Law, Articles, Content Type, Fraud, Real EstateRisky VTB mortgage transactions in Collingwood and Barrie
LAWPRO is warning Ontario real estate lawyers to be on the alert for risky vendor takeback mortgage transactions, some of which may be closing this week. There is a significant potential claims risk for lawyers involved in these transactions. On April 24 we sent a LAWPRO Alert email to lawyers in the Barrie and Collingwood… Read More »
Categories: Alerts, FraudDon’t get duped: 20 red flags of bad cheque fraud you should recognize
Lawyers in all areas of practice continue to be the frequent targets of bad cheque scams. These scams involve debt collections, business loans, IP licensing disputes or spousal support payments. While it appears Ontario lawyers are increasingly aware of these frauds, occasionally some are being duped into disbursing funds on a bad cheque they have… Read More »
Categories: 2015 February - LAWPRO 20th, Articles, Cyber dangers, Fraud, Practice TipsProtecting yourself from cybercrime dangers: The steps you need to take
Cybercrime dangers are many, complex and ever-changing. Hardly a day goes by without another news report of a data breach or other cyber-related scam or theft. Cyber criminals have considerable resources and expertise, and can cause significant damage to their targets. Cyber criminals specifically target law firms as law firms regularly have funds in their… Read More »
Categories: 2013 December Cybercrime, Articles, Cyber dangers, Features, Fraud, Legal TechnologyBe ready with an incident response plan
Because a cybercrime attack can cause irreparable harm, law firms should be prepared to take action immediately. Being able to do this requires an Incident Response Plan (IRP). An effective IRP can put a firm in a position to effectively and efficiently manage a breach by protecting sensitive data, systems, and networks, and to quickly… Read More »
Categories: 2013 December Cybercrime, Articles, Cyber dangers, Disaster Planning, Features, FraudKeeping your passwords strong and secure
Computer passwords are the keys that “unlock” our computer and network systems. We all have more passwords than we can remember. This tends to make us a bit lazy. We use obvious and easy-to-remember passwords – even the word “password” itself. Or worse: we don’t use them at all. Bad password habits are often one… Read More »
Categories: 2013 December Cybercrime, Articles, Cyber dangers, Fraud, Legal Technology, Tech TipsCybercrime and law firms: The risks and dangers are real
Historians may well look back and call 2013 “The year of the hacker.” There have been numerous high-profile data breaches involving major corporations and online services: Facebook, Apple, Twitter, Adobe, NASDAQ, The New York Times and LexisNexis, to name just a few. Everyone reading this article likely has information stored by at least one, if… Read More »
Categories: 2013 December Cybercrime, Articles, Cyber dangers, Features, Fraud