Victory State Bank Repeats FBI’s Warning: Law Firms Being Targeted In Counterfeit Check Scams
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Victory State Bank is urging law firms to take notice of a warning from the FBI concerning counterfeit check schemes.
According to the FBI, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is still receiving reports of counterfeit check schemes targeting U.S. law firms.
The scammers contact lawyers via e-mail claiming to be overseas and requesting legal representation in collecting a debt from third parties located in the U.S.
The law firms receive a retainer agreement and check payable to the law firm.
The firms are then instructed to deposit the check, take out retainer fees, and wire the remaining funds to banks in China, Korea, Ireland, or Canada.
VARIATION OF THE SCHEME
In a slight variation of the scheme’s execution, the victim law firm receives e-mail from what appears to be an attorney located in another state requesting assistance for a client.
The client needs aid in collecting a debt from a company located in the victim law firm’s state.
In some of the reported cases, the name of the referring attorney and the debtor company used in the e-mail were verified as legitimate entities and were being used as part of the scheme.
The law firm receives a signed retainer agreement and a check made payable to the law firm from the alleged debtor.
The client instructs the law firm to deposit the check and to wire the funds, minus all fees, to an overseas bank account. The law firm discovers after the funds are wired that the check is counterfeit.
USE CAUTION
Law firms should use caution when engaging in transactions with parties who are handling their business solely via e-mail, particularly those parties claiming to reside overseas.
Attorney’s who agree to represent a client in circumstances similar to those described above should consider incorporating a provision into their retainer agreement that allows the attorney to hold funds received from a debtor for a sufficient period of time to verify the validity of the check.
If you have been a victim of an Internet scam or have received an e-mail that you believe was an attempted scam, please file a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
About Victory State Bank
VSB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSBN) is the one-bank holding company for Victory State Bank. As Staten Island, N.Y.’s only community-based commercial bank, Victory State Bank operates five full-service locations on the Island: The main office in the community of Great Kills, and branches in the communities of West Brighton, St. George, Dongan Hills and Rosebank. For additional information, Victory State Bank may be reached at 718-979-1100 or visited online http://www.victorystatebank.com .
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