Reduce Risk from Disability Cases Why expose your practice to unnecessary risk by taking on Social Security and SSI disability cases if a professional-to-professional referral will better serve your clients? Referring those cases to H. Mayo Smith, P.A., provides your client an attorney who has limited his practice to Social Security/SSI disability claims exclusively since 1986, who has a Master of Science Degree in Disability Evaluation, and who provides competent, compassionate representation on disability matters. Your practice will be safer, and you’ll have the knowledge that your clients understand that you act in their interest.
H. MAYO SMITH, P.A. 501.374.5605 Disability Law Serving the Hurt, Sick and Injured
600 W. 4th Street • Little Rock, AR 72201
“The Social Security Act is among the most intricate ever drafted by Congress.” It is “almost unintelligible to the uninitiated.” —Schweiker v. Gray Panthers
possible. They know that their fakes are very professional and usually will pass an initial visual inspection at the financial institution taking the deposit. Some counterfeits are so good that it may take weeks to identify the check as counterfeit. At that point, you are left holding the bag: the scam artists have your money and you may even be suspected of fraud. Fake check scammers often claim to be in another country. That makes it difficult, they say, for them to do business in the U.S. so they need your help to receive payments by checks on U.S. banks. Often you are asked to wire the funds out of the country. The deal is too good to be true. This old, smart consumer advice holds true in these cases. If a “client” is eager, sight unseen, to enlist your legal services, smell a rat. If after a few emails or phone conversations, a “client” wants to hire you, slow down. Avoiding the scam Wait for a cashier’s or certified check to clear before using the money. Although your financial institution may quickly make funds available that you’ve deposited, or may tell you that the deposit has been credited
to your account, that does not mean that the check is good or has cleared through the original issuing institution. That can take many days. Sometimes it can take weeks to discover a very good forgery, and the check won’t bounce until then. Therefore, verify the check with the issuing bank and then wait for final clearance. All it will take is one insufficient-funds check for your trust account to be in the red. (And you know, of course, that banks have to report to the State Bar when your trust account becomes overdrawn?) Don’t be fooled into thinking that the company is real or legitimate just because its website looks good. Some of the sites run by scammers look extremely professional. Know with whom you are dealing. The law generally assumes that you, not your financial institution, have the best knowledge of the person who gave you the check because you are dealing directly with them. Therefore, if you are dealing with a stranger, make sure you have that person’s name, address and phone number, then verify those independently using online directories. If the number or address in the directory is different, call the person using those
numbers. You may have stumbled into an identity-theft situation and can help another consumer. There is no legitimate reason for someone who is giving you money to ask you to wire money back. Always insist that the check be in the exact amount or deal in cash. Emphasize that you prefer a check from a local bank or a national bank with a branch in your area. Your deposits are your responsibility. If you have deposited a check that then bounces, the bank will withdraw the original dollar amount credited to your trust account. If your trust account doesn’t have enough money to cover the deduction, the bank may freeze your trust account or, worse, the bank may sue you to recover the funds. The problem for attorneys is that if you hold funds for clients or third parties, you have to hold it in your client trust account. As a result, in this scam, if you’re complying with the ethical rules, you would have put the money into your trust account and then you’re disbursing out of your trust account. If the check you deposit turns out to be fake, then you may have converted the other clients’ funds in your account. n
Vol. 45 No. 4/Fall 2010 The Arkansas Lawyer
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