Members with information concerning suspected scam e-mails targeting lawyers, may send the information to communications@lawsoc.org.sg for consideration for inclusion in this page.

Scam E-mail Targeting Lawyers – 7 February 2012

The Law Society has been alerted about an e-mail scam targeting lawyers in Singapore. The e-mail is purportedly sent by one ‘Kazuo Miyoko’ seeking to retain the services of a lawyer in relation to the recovery of a sum of money under a Collaborative Law Agreement involving a divorce settlement.

Lawyers from other jurisdictions who have received similar e-mail scams have reportedly mentioned in online sources that the scam typically involves receipt of a cheque in settlement from the purported husband of ‘Kazuo Miyoko’ which will in the usual course be deposited in the lawyer’s client account. After deducting legal fees, the lawyer sends the scammer the amount owing. The cheque will subsequently be found to bounce or is a fraudulent cheque. The scammers may even forward a copy of a stolen or forged passport with an apparently genuine picture of Kazuo Miyoko.

Members who receive such an e-mail are advised to exercise due diligence.