Legal Tech: 8 red flags to avoid being scammed

By Shamla Naidoo Some of you may have read an article published in the June 2010 issue of the ABA Journal, “A Scam by Any Name.” In it, the author discusses the growing number of online scam artists targeting law firms and legal professionals, including a single scam that cost six firms in Hawaii over half a million dollars. This type of scam is an unfortunate fact of life in our increasingly interconnected world. Advice from the FBI that “most attorneys are smart enough to just delete these emails, or regard them with suspicion” is like saying don’t open email with viruses – if we knew about the virus, we wouldn’t open the email.  In the physical world, we pay attention to clues that help alert us to dangerous situations. We know better than to walk down dark alleys at night or flash cash in cities known for high crime. However, not all of us apply the same “street savvy” while online; even if we do, malicious emails look like normal emails to a casual viewer. A website set up by criminals may look exactly the same as that of a legitimate organization and sometimes is even a copy of a real website with a few technical differences invisible to the naked eye. Rather than telling them not to become victims, it is more helpful to educate lawyers on “red flags” that often characterize suspicious electronic correspondence. While suspicious-looking correspondence is not always malicious, being aware of these indicators may help you to stop, pause or seek guidance from someone with greater expertise, like your co-counsel, IT staff, security personnel, or your tech-savvy grandchild! While there are always exceptions, be on the lookout for:

1. Unsolicited communications referencing unfamiliar past business transactions
2. Misspelling of legal terminology you would expect a qualified legal professional to know
3. Use of generic email addresses for alleged legal correspondence (aol.com, yahoo.com, msn.com, etc.)
4. Mismatch between the email address and the alleged sender's name (such as an email from John Smith Esq., sent from janc59103@msn.com)
5. Overpayments with expectations of immediate refunds (always wait for the check to clear before issuing reimbursements!)
6. Any correspondence with an exclusively virtual presence
7. A surprising degree of trust from a new client (e.g. messages that say “I know I can trust you because of everything I've heard about you”, without showing any specific knowledge of your practice)
8. Anything that seems too good to be true!

None of these may necessarily indicate malicious intent on the part of the sender just as prolific graffiti, broken beer bottles and drug paraphenalia do not always mean a given alley is unsafe at night. But in either case, use common sense, and exercise caution where warranted. To help citizens cope with this growing problem, the FBI has set up a website where you can research existing scams and report new ones.