Taylor McKenzie: Warning to Japan and Other Countries on Equipment Purchase Scam

People behind some fraud activities are now targeting law firms to acquire money. They trick lawyers by acting as someone in need of assistance in drafting sales and purchase agreement.

The scam targets law firms and independent attorneys. The said target must be alert in taking up new clients through email inquiries. Those who coordinate this type of scam uses email inquiries as for their way to get the attention of legal representatives.

Equipment Purchase Scam

According to the complaints of the lawyers, they received an email that inquires for drafting sales and purchase agreement with an interested buyer in the area. The culprits target attorneys from the United States and Canada. They are also starting to spread throughout other Asian countries such as Japan.

The emails may not be marked as spam because they include details such as the name, address, and contact number of the company. What makes it look genuine is a company website is also included in the email. However, the links included in the message will redirect to a bogus company website which they only create to show trustworthiness to the proposal they sent via email. This is the scammers’ technique so they won’t look suspicious right away.

This scam attempt uses a formal way of communication. They contact the lawyers using email because it is the common way where people send their inquiries and concern to the respective law representatives. Not only lawyers but also other legitimate businesses should also be mindful of opening suspicious links from unknown sources. The links sent through email may redirect to a phishing website that can get all the personal information. The information that can be attained by phishing websites can be used for fraudulent transactions and other purposes.

For some, they can quickly judge a spam message since it may seem obvious at first look and may bring a minor annoyance. If that’s the case, the scam proposal can be easily ignored or deleted. Nonetheless, there are other types of scam that specifically targets businesses and do what it takes swindle some money.

Law representatives must be on the lookout since a lot of scammers see the construction and mining market as a profitable target where they can steal a hefty amount of money quickly. According to the complaints of the victims, the culprits were able to get away with the money easily because they are located beyond the government’s reach.

Before committing to any client who looking for legal help in sales and purchases agreement, it is better to review and research the proposal thoroughly. If the targets aren’t doubtful, it can be easy for scammers to take advantage of people and then escape.