As readers of LIANSwers, you know we have written about various scams people have tried on lawyers. A potential client, previously unknown, contacts the lawyer and asks if they are willing to take a matter, usually a debt collection, business purchase, equipment purchase or personal injury, even a dog bite case. Review our archive here: LIANS’ Fraud Alerts.
We have recently received two related reports. In one, the lawyer did a little digging and eventually responded to the potential client with a self-serving comment going so far as to actually calling the fraudster some names.
First off, that this lawyer determined that the potential file was a scam early on was a good thing. Resources that she used to make this determination included one of our fraud alerts and material posted on the BC Lawyers Insurance Fund website.
Not as good was that she provided links to those items in her response to the fraudster. Which means this fraudster knows that they have to come up with new names and new schemes.
A better response is to simply decline to take the matter and move on. That is the response we recommend to any scam someone tries on you when you discover it – don’t engage more than necessary. Just decline the retainer with a simple no thank you.
Another way to make sure you do not become the victim of a scam is at the client identification verification stage. This is perhaps more important if you are asked to deposit a cheque or if the client is not known to you but is from out of province. At the end of the day, you are the gatekeeper of your own practice, your trust account, your firm. Trying to scam a lawyer is now a cottage industry. Rules for client identification are put in place for various reasons. Anti-money laundering is one. Another is that it can help to confirm that the person you are dealing is in fact who they say they are.
For a list of scams, you can look to the Fraud Prevention link on the B.C. Lawyers Indemnity Fund website. But please do not give it to the fraudster.
You may also want to review LIANS Fraud Alert: NS Lawyers’ Identities “Spoofed” from January 2026, which provides resources and guidance on dealing with phishing/spoofing attempts; as well as the recent NSBS piece “Resources for Identifying Malicious Emails” from May 27, 2026.