The nature of my practice causes me to read a lot of pretty funny emails. Most of the time they deal with a rich kid from Nigeria whose uncle just died and he needs you to send him $1 million dollars so he can get $500 million from the bank. Lately, I’ve been seeing more emails directed at attorneys. A couple of years ago a few attorneys got taken for similar scams. Here’s the latest incarnation:

Dear Counsel,
My Name is Hajime Bada, President & CEO of  JFE Steel Corporation. JFE Steel Corporation is a steel & chemical trading company. My Company currently has a claim against an American/Canada and European company for a breach of contract.

We wish to retain an attorney that will assist us in collecting funds owed to us by a deliquent Customer within your jurisdiction. We are of the opinion that once our presence is established in your state via a legal representative, our customer will have no option but comply with payment request to avoid legal action and litigation. We have all the documents supporting the case and we are ready to present it if we happen to go before the court of law to settle this matter. Please advice on your fees and retainer agreement and any other information that you would need to take on this case.
Thank you and I await your prompt response
Hajime Bada,
JFE Steel Corporation.
No. 2-2-3 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-Ku,
Tokyo, Japen.
Phone: 81-3458-01740

So if you’re an attorney, business is down, and you get an email like this don’t get the urge to respond. It’s nothing but a targeted scam.

I’ve tracked a few of these emails back to computers in the U.S. which are surely hacked from somewhere in China, one of the former eastern block countries (who by the way treat hacking the same as a law abiding profession), and or somewhere in south America.