PARK PLACE LAW

Nanaimo Clients and residents please be safe.

The Law Society of British Columbia has put out public notices warning the general public of several recent scams involving fake lawyers.

Several scams have appeared, all of which aim to get access to their intended victim’s money. Recently, a scammer targeted an animal charity in Richmond using sophisticated fake law firm letterhead and a fraudulent cheque.

Other examples include the inheritance scam, in which the scammer makes up a story about a fictitious distant relative leaving their estate to the intended victim; the grandparent scam, in which the scammer pretends to be the lawyer for the victim’s grandchild; and scammers’ offers to provide legal services regarding urgent patent or trademark matters. Scammers also send emails to people directing them to send funds to the scammer’s account with respect to their intended victim’s legitimate real estate transactions and settlement agreements.

If you have been contacted by someone who you suspect may be impersonating a lawyer, look for red flags such as grammatical errors or typos in the message, letterhead and logos.

You can also use the Law Society’s Lawyer Directory to check if the phone number and email address match the individual’s contact information. If it’s a scam, report it to law enforcement and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Learn more:
- Animal charity scam: https://ow.ly/8Yvj50Wy3Y0
- Inheritance scam: https://ow.ly/bMqg50Wy3XZ
- Grandparent scam: https://ow.ly/kWlV50Wy3Y1
- Patent and trademark scams: https://ow.ly/bAvQ50Wy3XY
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CEBA LOANS - REPAYMENT DEADLINE - JANUARY 18, 2024

The forgiveness repayment date has been extended to January 18, 2024, for eligible CEBA Borrowers in good standing. If the loan remains outstanding on January 19, 2024, it will convert to a non-amortizing term loan with full principal repayment due on December 31, 2026. Borrowers with outstanding balances as of January 18, 2024, will be contacted by their financial institution to request a lump sum repayment of the outstanding debt. If, at that point, they do not fully repay their CEBA loan to their financial institution, the financial institution will likely be required to assign their loan to the government’s CEBA Program for collection efforts.