We would like to remind Bar members to be diligent when it comes to recognizing scams. A few recent scams that have been brought to our attention are listed below.
A recent phishing scam that has been brought to our attention involves a scammer impersonating a staff member of the American Bar Association (ABA) communications department. The scammer sent an email asking that the recipient follow a disclosure request that has been “provided to their firm.” Thankfully, the attorney who received this email contacted the ABA and they confirmed that they did not send the email.
Another scam involves a scammer calling an attorney claiming that they were charged a fee by the attorney. The scammer claimed that they are not a client of the attorney and requested a refund. The attorney checked their records and did not find a charge of the amount (less than $50.00) that the scammer claimed was charged. When the attorney asked for the scammer to provide a credit card statement for proof, the scammer did not respond.
Other phishing scams to be aware of involve emails, purportedly sent from me as Bar President or other officers, circulated to several members of the Bar. If you receive an email from myself or another officer that you were not expecting and which comes from a strange email address (the emails are sometimes spoofed, but if you hover over the sender's name you can sometimes see that the address does NOT actually belong to the sender), please do not respond to the email or click on any links; delete the email immediately. Other scam emails often ask the person receiving the email if they are "free at the moment." When the receiver responds, the scammer asks the receiver to procure several gift cards for the sender as a favor.
Please be advised that the president of the Bar Association would never send emails of this nature to members. We advise members to always be careful when you receive an email from an unknown sender. Always err on the side of caution and contact the person or law firm directly to confirm legitimacy.