Law Times

PAGE 14 FOCUS November 28, 2011 • Law Times Enhanced coverage for counterfeit cheques Continued from page 13 was going to and held up pay- ment, which allowed us the time to get the money back." Loan or debt collections and spousal support payments appear most commonly in the fraud scenarios. At the same time, Pinnington says fraud- sters will back up their stories with convincing identification and references to real business- es and people near the lawyer. As a result, it'll take more than a cursory glance to uncover the holes, says Pinnington. "They'll give phone num- bers and addresses, and there's someone there to answer the phone if you call it. But if you go out and do some digging, you'll see the number doesn't match the contact information on the web. Dig deeper and ask questions." Lawyers can also check the growing database of fake iden- tifications and commonly used names on practicePRO's Avoid A Claim blog or they can con- tact LawPRO when they have any suspicions. "We're very careful about client confidentiality," says Pinnington. "We don't ask for client names at the beginning of the call, but after 30 seconds hear- ing a scenario, I can sit down with a list of common names and run through it. Usually, there's a match." LawPRO also offers en- hanced coverage for counter- feit cheques and bank drafts in certain circumstances, includ- ing a requirement that lawyers wait at least eight business days before disbursing funds or for the financial institution to confirm the document's valid- ity in writing. The only time lawyers can be absolutely certain that money is in a bank account is when it arrives via a wire over the large-value transfer system, says Pinnington, who nevertheless acknowledges that they may be uncomfort- able giving out account details to someone they suspect of be- ing a fraudster. "Don't be complacent and think you wouldn't be fooled by one of these. They are sophisti- cated, very persistent, and very determined. Lawyers have been successfully duped even when afterwards they admitted they had suspicions." ISSUE DATE FOCUS SECTION December 12 Criminal Law January 9 Insurance Law January 16 Real Estate Law January 23 Privacy Law January 30 Intellectual Property/ Trademark Law February 6 International/Cross-border Law February 13 Family Law/Trusts & Estates February 27 Labour & Employment Law March 5 Immigration Law 1.800.263.8537 www.henderson.ca Proud Sponsor of March 12 Litigation March 19 Restructuring & Insolvency March 26 Energy Law April 2 ADR April 16 April 23 April 30 May 7 May 14 Class Actions IT/Telecommunications Law Aboriginal Law Personal Injury Law Running Your Practice To advertise in an upcoming issue of Law Times, contact our sales team: Karen Lorimer 416-647-288-8018 Your Partners in Service® Since 1981 Untitled-2 1 11-11-17 3:56 PM karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Kimberlee Pascoe 416-649-8875 kimberlee.pascoe@thomsonreuters.com Baxter_LT_May2_11 2.indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 4/27/11 2:57:54 PM

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