Attention FCBA Members,
Please be aware of a scam that has targeted at least several law firms in our area.
The scam may take various forms, but appears to go like this:
- The scammer contacts a law firm saying they want to hire the firm to sue a company that damaged them.
- Next, the scammer says that they have actually settled their claim or otherwise received a payout prior to the law firm’s involvement, and asks to have a check, comprising the recovered funds, sent to the law firm.
- If the law firm says yes, the law firm will then receive a bank check that looks legitimate, and may deposit the check into its escrow account. While these checks are counterfeit, they can be virtually identical to legitimate cashier’s checks issued by the financial institution.
- Then, the scammer calls asking that the law firm immediately wire funds to some third-party account.
- The deposited check will then be rejected by the law firm’s bank. But, if the law firm has already sent a wire, it will have been defrauded of other funds in its escrow account.
If you believe that your law firm has been or is being targeted by this scam, please immediately report it to a law enforcement agency. Feel free to contact Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett at [email protected].
The Wisconsin Court System has issued a warning, Scams Targeting Lawyers and Trust Accounts, available here, that explains variations of this scam and offers tips on avoiding them.