BIFA is committed to raising awareness of the various frauds and scams that pose a threat to our membership community. We provide regular updates on the criminal activity that impacts our Members; resulting in the theft of goods or financial loss.
The scams aim to obtain the services of freight forwarders with no intention of paying for them by deception, or gain sufficient information to facilitate the theft of cargo.
The most common types of fraud that negatively impact members are referred to as ‘Short Firm Fraud’ or ‘Identity Fraud’. However recently a new type of scam has been brought to our attention by a Member, and investigations indicate that it is becoming rather widespread. Known as a “Trademark Scam”, it relies on two things: 1) pressure and 2) impersonating a solicitor to give the communication more credibility.
Below is a reproduction of a message received by members within the last week, from someone claiming to be a solicitor.
“We have recently received instructions from another party seeking to apply for the trademark registration of “[COMPANY NAME]” and this is the name that is the subject of the potential trademark conflict.
Our research indicates that your business has been using this name prior to the prospective applicant, which is why we contacted you. As part of our standard due diligence process, we notify businesses with apparent prior use, so they have the opportunity to consider protecting their brand before we proceed with our client’s instructions.
If you are actively using “[COMPANY NAME]” and wish to obtain registered trademark protection, we would be pleased to assist you with the application process. If you decide not to proceed, please let us know so that we may continue acting in accordance with our client’s instructions.”
The fraudsters offer help registering the trading name as a registered trademark. BIFA looked into this matter contacting The Trademark Helpline, who have received approximately 50 enquiries regarding this type of scam in a short timeframe. It has to be emphasised that there is a legitimate legal firm with that name, but they focus on Commercial property law.
The Trademark Helpline offers the following information: https://www.thetrademarkhelpline.com/news/scam-warning-alethea-law-trademark-website-possible-impersonation-scam/
If BIFA members are approached by Alethea Law LLC or any other entity offering to assist you apply for trademark registration, we ask that you report them immediately to them to The Trademark Helpline: https://www.thetrademarkhelpline.com/
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