Home -> Law Blog Directory -> International Law Blogs -> Wise Law Blog

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

International Law

: Wise Law Blog

Spam Art and Solicitor-Client Confidentiality

ADVERTISEMENTS

I must confess to at least a grudging admiration for the unyielding, malicious creativity demonstrated by spammers and black-hatters in their efforts to tempt - or frighten - unwitting recipients into opening virus-laden emails.

Perhaps it will come to be seen as an underground art form, some day.

This virus-infected spam, purporting to contain a Notice of Unreported Income from the IRS, was filtered by my ISP this afternoon:

Of course, here in Canada, threatening email from the IRS strikes no fear in the heart. In America, I'd think this email might have fairly high click-through and virus-payload delivery percentages

On a related note, I've been having a discussion today with my friend Michael Carabash about whether solicitor client privilege attaches to unsolicited spam email.

My take is that it generally does. We may not owe a duty of care to unsolicited spammers, but we generally do owe a duty of confidentiality with respect to all emails received at our professional addresses. Where the email contains what may be a bogus "request for legal representation" that could be the introductory salvo in an attempted fraud (we get these suspicious emails quite frequently), the issue becomes more complex.

Nonetheless, I'd still come down uncompromisingly on the side of maintaining confidentiality - absent absolute proof of fraud.

I've published the identifying "IRS" information above because of its "no-reply" email address, which eliminates any concern that the email could be from a real person, or perhaps, be a spoof of a real person's identifying information.

Otherwise, I would not publish or disclose.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG ? SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Full post as published by Wise Law Blog on September 27, 2009 (boomark / email).