The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.

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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

"Identity theft" of an entire British Columbia law firm  

Reports of identity theft are pretty common (at least here on the Canadian Privacy Law Blog), but what is the likelihood that the identity of an entire law firm would be stolen? Hang onto your hats folks, but it has happened and lawyers need to be on the lookout for similar scams.

According to Legal Mutual, scammers replicated a British Columiba law firm's website to suggest that the lawyers were "transfer agents" for an offshore investment scam. Doing this would mean that soon-to-be bilked investors would be able to confirm that the supposed transfer agents were, in fact, members of the BC bar. This is scary stuff. Check out Theft of Law Firm Website Behind Investment Scam. Thanks to The Insurance Defense Blog for the link.

From the article:

Theft of Law Firm Website Behind Investment Scam

"... Victoria law firm McConnan Bion O’Connor & Peterson discovered firm photos and lawyer names had been copied from their website (www.mcbop.com) and used to create a website for a fictitious Vancouver firm called Bion McConnan & Associates.

A company called First Independent Capital Resources, Inc., purportedly from Tokyo, then began soliciting investments in Australia claiming “Bion McConnan & Associates” was its transfer agent for the investment. First Independent’s website listed a number of impressive deals the company had allegedly been involved in and provided a link to the fictitious “Bion McConnan & Associates” website. First Independent had also been circulating a fictitious letter purportedly signed by one of the Bion McConnan & Associates lawyers, confirming that certain items would be held in escrow by Bion McConnan & Associates as part of the bogus deal.

Because the fictitious website used the names of real British Columbia lawyers, anyone checking their status in telephone books, law directories or with the Law Society of British Columbia would see that they were Law Society of British Columbia members....

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