At the beginning of the engagement with your lawyer, you should receive an agreement which outlines the services that will be provided. This agreement will also detail costs and give you some options for payment.
If, like our office, your lawyer operates a remote or online office, your agreement and any future requests for payment are going to be via email or an online service (eg. DocuSign). But, what about the risk of that email or request being hijacked by a hacker and, the hacker replacing your bank details with theirs, and probably adding a zero too!
We all know the internet scams where you can get rich quick, just by *inserting your credit card details here* or the postage service is very sorry that they can’t deliver the package you didn’t actually order and they will do their best to fix it, if you just click this ominous looking box which puts an unsalvageable virus on your computer unless you guessed, you *insert your credit card details here*…
You might also want to look out for some tell-tale signs:
• Were you expecting a bill from us, as per the terms agreed in your agreement?
• Is the bill for a strange amount that looks a bit odd?
• Is our logo or email address a bit off? If it feels a bit strange – check your past emails from us to see if the email address and formatting match up.
• Do you feel uneasy generally about this strange email (and not just because it is a bill from your lawyer)?
Please let us know if you ever receive any communication from us like this, especially where there is a request for payment included. You can reach out to us at hello@passagemigration.consulting
Have a wonderful day!
Rachael is our Legal Practice Director, Youtube Host and Creator of Passage Migration Consulting.
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