The Florida Bar has announced a new scam that involves fraudulent websites using real lawyers names, to attract unaware consumers of legal services.

This new scam is a “You’ve won the sweepstakes, Now Pay Us…” fiasco. The victim receives a call from the scammer with the “good news” that they’ve won. They’re then given a website where they can confirm the lawyer’s identity, and the URL takes the victim to a site that contains some legitimate information about the lawyer and/or law firm, but the phone numbers are directed off shore, and the addresses are non-existent. Unfortunately, even if the victim is savvy enough to call the state bar to confirm, the lawyer’s name is in good standing, so that won’t prevent this fraud from happening.

This kind of scam is particularly heinous because it uses the public’s trust of the the legal system to hook it’s victims. The best thing real lawyers can do is conjoin in an effort to educate the public about these scams.

Adding information about this in your client newsletters, law firm blogs and web sites are excellent places to start. E-mails and online tools driving the public to your online platforms, make them even more effective. Traditional means of communication like a note in each client’s monthly bill would be a help as well.

These efforts will reduce the number of incidents in the future, and also reassure the public of lawyers intention of to keep internet fraud at bay. Additionally, state bars need to look at additional ways to safeguard the public against theses scams when they contact the bar for information.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this…

Tags: Kara Smith, Karasma Media, Legal Marketing Tips