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Instead of pretending to be from some far away land, scammers are disguising themselves as stern officials demanding your immediate compliance. Don't fall for it.
Surely, you've seen or heard about the Nigerian email scam. Messages like these are often the subject of jokes, but notwithstanding the fact that the story seems impossible to believe, people still respond, and fall victim to, email appeals from strangers. Sometimes the promise of untold riches is too large to ignore, despite the warning signs.
More recently, criminals have launched new phishing schemes to trap unsuspecting victims. The Voice of Experience e-newsletter just covered some of the scams (ambar.org/scamsarticle). Many others are aggressively targeting attorneys. Here's how.
BARS BEGIN ISSUING WARNINGS
A growing number of state bar associations are warning their members of email phishing scams targeting lawyers and their clients.
In June, The Florida Bar issued an advisory warning (http://bit.ly/2dV7JlK) attorneys that criminals have accessed the attorney database (which is an online public record) and begun sending out fake bar-dues notices threatening suspension of law licenses for nonpayment of those dues.
These emails typically include a link. The bar has warned lawyers not to click on any links contained within the emails and to delete the emails immediately. It's suspected these links lead to malicious software.
The subject lines of the scam emails the Florida bar noted included:
* "Florida Bar Complaint-Attorney Consumer Assistance Program"-This email bears the name of President-elect William J. Schifino Jr., on behalf of the Attorney Consumer Assistance Program, according to the Florida bar alert. The email...