Scams Striking Law Firms & Attorneys, Warns Mississippi AG

The Office of Mississippi (USA) Attorney General is warning that a phishing scam is making rounds on the Internet to attack law firms and attorneys. Attorney General Jim Hood state that attorneys in a number of states who could not recognize the scam have already been victimized by it, as reported by WTOK on June 18, 2009. Members of the Mississippi Bar Association have also been alerted.

Officials state that the fraud involves sending a law firm/attorney an e-mail that claims that the sender has a contract dispute or collection issue and therefore requires an area attorney to take care of it. Subsequently, the sender through the e-mail tries to build a rapport and after a short time he (the client) proceeds to inform the attorney that the matter has been resolved and he has directed the debtor to pay the attorney through a check.

Further, the client instructs the attorney to credit the check to his account, retain his charges and thereafter transfer the remaining amount to the account of the client. However, the scam takes place when the check arrives for the attorney is credited to his account. The check issued is a fake and the victimized attorney becomes legally responsible for the money.

Hence, Hood cautions local law firms and attorneys and advises them to exercise diligence if they face such a situation. According to him, in such incidences, entities receiving the scam e-mail must check the names as well as contact information given. Besides, it is recommended not to allocate the deposited money, until the bank of the check issuer approves the check.

Moreover, Scam Email Alert, a website for phishing information, cautioned of scams and recommended that each state establish laws and regulations for its own jurisdiction to tackle such frauds.

With phishing scams on the rise, many state attorneys are compelled to draw people's attention towards such frauds. Earlier this month (June 2009), Greg Abbott AG of Texas warned residents about online scammers and sexual predators who tried to snatch business and personal information.

Related article: Scansafe Claims that malware Grew by 35% in April

» SPAMfighter News - 6/26/2009