Are Attorneys The Target Of I.D. Theft By Rogue Operators Of Pirate Web Sites?

A recent article in The Florida Bar News describes a fake law firm whose operators have stolen the identities of real attorneys and include them in the bogus firm's website to perpetrate scams on the public. According to the article:

• [T]he Web site is part of the recent problem in which scam artists impersonate real lawyers to gain credibility. In this case, the site promoters attempt to get money by convincing people they have won sweepstakes, but need to pay various fees to collect the prizes. It’s a high-tech enhancement of a scheme that has popped up across Florida recently (See story in the October 1 Bar News.)

• The Bar became aware of the site because potential victims called the Attorney/Client Assistance Program. Those calls in turn generated an investigation by the Bar’s Unlicensed Practice of Law [UPL] Department, and the site also was reported to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

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• Bar UPL Counsel Lori Holcomb said the scammers’ method of operation is to work outside the country, while claiming to be a Florida law firm, and then contact only potential victims in other states.

For more, see Con men steal identities, pirate attorney Web sites.