Nigerian scam takes US law firms in for $32 million

A Nigerian man has been extradited to the US on allegations of defrauding a number of law firms with an international "collection" scam. It is alleged that Emmanuel Ekhator got $32 million out of over 80 lawyers and law firms with a scam that was usefully summarized by the good people at Roll on Friday: (a) Conspirator A emails a law firm claiming to represent a foreign company, pretends to be attempting to collect money owed from a result of a transaction (say, a real estate deal) and asks for legal representation; (b) The firm agrees to act and Conspirator B, pretending to be a representative of the entity owing the money, calls the firm and agrees to make payment; (c) Conspirator B makes payment via a cheque, carefully forged to appear legitimate; (d) The cheque is deposited and the firm makes a wire transfer to an account owned by the conspirators; (e) The fake cheque bounces; and finally (f) The law firm foams at the mouth and gnashes its teeth to have been taken in by such an incredibly simple trick.

Nigerian scam takes US law firms in for $32 million rollonfriday.com Fri, Aug 19, 2011