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There is a new version of the Nigerian Letter Scam targeting law firms with the promise of work in collecting unpaid amounts in Family Law Collaborative settlements.
If you remember the Nigerian letter scam works on the promise of some funds (often in the millions) but first they need you to pay some funds or provide a blank letterhead and your bank details. The promise is never fulfilled and you lose whatever you paid and in the past whatever was in your bank account.
I have had a couple of these emails in the last week.
A copy of one of them follows:
Hi Sir/Madam,
I am Donna Lynn Chipman. I am contacting this firm in regards to my settlement with my separated husband (Ashak R. Chipman) who resides in your jurisdiction. I am currently on assignment in Asia. We had an out of court agreement (Collaborative Law Agreement) for him to pay $848,900.00 plus legal fees. He has only paid me $184,000.00. I am hereby requesting your firm to assist in collecting the balance from him. He is willing to pay me the balance but I would appreciate if your office handles the collection process from my ex to avoid further delays or litigate this matter if he fails to pay as promised.
Sincerely,
Donna Lynn Chipman.
If you have a look around the internet, you will find many examples of the same sort of letter.
How it Works?
From what I can understand, you will receive a fraudulent cheque from an overseas bank, they will then pressure you into sending them money from your account before the cheque is found to be bogus.
The interesting thing about this one is that it appears to be far more targeted in terms of its audience (lawyers) and the promise seems reasonable and fair.
Some clues are:
- Poor grammar,
- Untraceable email addresses (gmail, hotmail etc),
- Email address with no obvious connection to sender.
If you do a Google search of a couple of the sentences in the email, it will often help you decide if it is a scam.
Have you received similar letters, I would love to hear about them.
