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Tech-savvy con artists are targeting solo and small-firm lawyers with sophisticated check fraud scams. Here are some ways that lawyers can minimize the risk of being ripped off:

• Use extra caution when dealing with an unknown prospective client who is in big hurry around bank holidays.

Sheila Blackford, practice management adviser for the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund, said this time is frequently picked because the fraudster knows detection will be postponed by a long, three-day weekend.

• Get a retainer.

Scam artists will usually avoid paying a retainer, especially by check, according to Dan Pinnington, director of the legal malpractice claims initiative at Lawyers Professional Indemnity Company in Toronto.

• Ask your bank the right question when you deposit a check into your clients’ trust account.

“The question to ask is not whether the funds ‘are available,’ which only tells you that you have funds available in your account to cover the check,” Blackford explained. “The right question to ask the bank is: are the funds collected? This tells you that the issuing check has released the money and the money is in your account.”

• Send any suspicious checks “for collection.”

The bank charges a fee – usually around $25 – but if the check is good, a cashier’s check will come to your bank from the payer.

“Usually, you’ll get a call from the bank saying we have received payment on your collection letter and it will be deposited into your account,” explained Robert T. Luttrell III, an attorney with McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City who represents banks.

• Use common sense.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true,” Pinnington said. “And if you’re suspicious it’s a fraud, ask more questions.”

Get more info

Lawyers seeking more information about check fraud scams should check Lawyers Professional Indemnity Company in Toronto’s fraud fact sheet.

Also, the Oklahoma Bar Association is posting articles and advice about the issue.

– Nora Lockwood Tooher

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