May 12, 2025
In today’s financial and legal world, wire transfers are a routine part of many transactions – whether it’s settlements, estate distributions, or real estate transactions. With the growing convenience of wire transfers, it is important to stay alert and informed about cybercrime and to take the necessary steps to protect your funds throughout the process.
Wire fraud usually happens when criminals impersonate a trusted person or organization, typically through email or other electronic means, to trick people into transferring funds to an unauthorized recipient. These scams often take the form of phishing emails that appear to come from someone to you know, like a lawyer or team member, asking about changes to bank details or requesting urgent action unexpectedly on a wire payment. As these scams become more sophisticated, it’s important to stay alert and carefully review any financial emails. Even if they seem convincing, taking a moment to verify can help protect you.
While cybercrime is a growing concern in many fields, there is good news: with the right systems, precautions, and habits in place, we can minimize the risks!
Steps We Take to Protect Your Transactions
Our firm takes a proactive stance on cybersecurity and fraud prevention. Below are key steps we take to help protect your transactions:
Verifying Wire Instructions
We will call you to confirm your wire details using a phone number we know and trust. We encourage you to do the same. If anything seems unusual, please contact us immediately.
Ongoing Education and Policies
Our staff and IT have regular discussions on best practices for cybersecurity and fraud prevention strategies. Additionally, we have internal policies in place to ensure we consistently take an active approach to keep your transactions running smoothly and securely.
Account Oversight and Monitoring
All transactions are carefully reviewed, and only authorized members can initiate or approve wire transfers. We also monitor accounts daily to identify any suspicious activity.
How You Can Help Protect Your Transactions
Here are a few simple recommendations to protect yourself:
- Be mindful of unexpected emails: If an email about a transaction feels unusually urgent or unexpected, take a moment to call us and confirm, and always double-check the sender’s information.
- Avoid clicking on unfamiliar links: If you are ever unsure about an email with a link, please reach out for confirmation.
- Take your time: Slow down and read through all emails carefully – especially ones that seem out of the ordinary.
- Use strong passwords: Protect your email account with a strong, unique password. If possible, activate two-factor authentication to provide additional security.
While cybercrime is an unfortunate reality of our modern age, taking thoughtful precautions and maintaining clear communication can make a meaningful difference in keeping your information and transactions safe. Casey & Moss is committed to protecting your interests every step of the way!
Emilia Szczepkowski
Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.
Nov 27, 2024
Disputes involving Wills and Estates often focus on legal complexities, family dynamics, and the emotional challenges that come with the loss of a loved one. However, one important factor that deserves further recognition is the impact of mental health on the litigation process.
Mental health plays a key role in estate litigation, as strong emotions often affect everyone involved – whether legal professionals, clients, or family members. These emotions can influence the entire resolution process.
Grief is a powerful emotion, and when combined with loss of control, financial uncertainty, or feelings of betrayal, it can lead to heightened stress, sadness, and frustration. These emotions do not go unrecognized and are often present during the initial stages of contacting a law firm. To help ease this process, you can refer to our previous posts, “The Intake Clerk and a Potential New Client” or “What Do I Need When Contacting an Estates Lawyer?”. They provide guidance on the initial steps and can help with what might otherwise be a stressful and emotional journey.
The emotional ups and downs of legal proceedings can be overwhelming, but there are ways to make the journey more manageable. Here are a few suggestions to help you stay supported and grounded:
- Mental Health Support: Having access to a mental health professional through therapy or counselling can help you cope with grief, manage emotional stress, and clear your mind.
- Feel the Emotions: It is normal to feel a wide range of emotions during the litigation process, but it is important to allow yourself to acknowledge those emotions, rely on support, and trust your legal professionals. By understanding these emotions early on, we can work together to ease the emotional strain that can intensify conflict and prolong the process.
- Communication: Clear, simple communication is key. A lawyer’s job is to make legal information easy to understand and accessible to clients, which helps reduce confusion and stress. It also makes the entire process smoother and less intimidating.
- Conflict Resolution: Mediation, when brought forth by your lawyer, offers a more collaborative, less adversarial path to resolution. It encourages all parties to work together toward a solution in a supportive environment.
As the holiday season approaches, emotions can run high, especially for families facing legal challenges. It’s important to make time for self-care and prioritize your well-being. If you or a loved one is in need of support, here are a few mental health resources linked below:
Distress Centres of Greater Toronto
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
Health Canada
211 Ontario
Emilia Szczepkowski
Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.
May 23, 2024
When you retain a lawyer, you will often hear the terms “Trust Account” or “In Trust”, but what exactly does that mean? A trust account is a specialized bank account that lawyers use to hold funds received on behalf of a client or a third party in a regulated matter. As stated on the Law Society of Ontario website, the most common type of trust account is a mixed trust account which pools money for multiple clients. Any interest earned is remitted to the Law Foundation of Ontario.
As for the term “In Trust”, this specifies that the funds are meant for this account.
Why Does a Lawyer Have a Trust Account?
Lawyers have trust accounts to manage client funds responsibly and safely, as part of their fiduciary duty. These accounts ensure the protection and safekeeping of client funds.
The Security of a Trust Account
Trust accounts are strictly regulated by law societies to ensure the secure and ethical handling of client funds. In Ontario, trust accounts follow stringent rules set by the Law Society of Ontario. These regulations guarantee the security of client funds and ethical management of the account. Law firms are closely monitored to ensure compliance with these rules and regulations.
Why Would my Money be in a Trust Account?
Below are a few examples of when funds would be deposited into Trust:
- Retainers: As specified in a Retainer Agreement, when a client chooses to be represented by a lawyer, a retainer fee is often required to secure the lawyer’s services. The retainer funds are held in the firm’s trust account and used for future legal billings.
- Court-Ordered Funds/Settlement: Funds awarded by the court can be deposited into a trust account before being distributed to the client or third parties.
- Third Party Disbursements: During the course of a proceeding, various costs may arise, such as payments for court reporters, mediations, and expert opinions. Payments for these expenses can be managed through the trust account.
Lawyers are required to maintain a client trust ledger for each client with funds in the trust account, recording all transactions that come in and out of the account. Clients can ask to view this ledger at any time to see the flow of funds.
For more information you can follow this link to the Law Society of Ontario website: https://lso.ca/lawyers/practice-supports-and-resources/topics/managing-money/trust-accounts
We “trust” that you find this post a helpful tool in understanding the importance and security of trust accounts!
Emilia Szczepkowski
Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.
