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Report any emails with fake links attempting to steal your ID, and any fake sites used by scammers.
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Fake lawyers and their fake websites

Sun Mar 10, 2019 9:37 pm

Fake lawyers and their bogus offices play an important part in many types of online fraud. They pretend to help you with needed documents in a foreign country you cannot visit as parts of an inheritance scams, non-existent lotteries, investments, jobs or loans. They claim to represent you in court during a business transaction with a person you met only online and never in person. There might even claim to try to help your online romantic partner to avoid jail for not declaring huge amounts of money in the airport - on his way to meet you. Or they might claim to be fighting to get your online romance out of jail. Last, but not least, they might use their so-called authority to extort money from you when the other characters in the scam deployed against you cannot convince you anymore. A lawyer telling you that you will end up in jail if you don't pay a requested fee is a common element in many scams. The fake online lawyers will always ask for upfront fees and they will always find something to blame you for if you don't want to pay.

They have websites as a proof they are legit. Their offices seems to be all over the world, with dozen of people working in those offices. All these people are using a single VOIP number for a contact, in most of the cases, or a geographic number that can be used anywhere while looking like it is used in a specific country.

The websites show their pictures, with a story for each and every one. Those pictures are stolen. The lawyers names are made up. The real owners of the stolen pictures used might be lawyers, but not in the area where the fake law office site claims they are.

Everything is more or less a polished lie meant to convince the victim that he is in contact with a reputable person he can trust.

The victim realizes what is going on only after being defrauded.

The example here shows a clear case on how this fraud works.

Re: Fake lawyers and their fake websites

Sun Mar 10, 2019 9:40 pm

The victim was seeking for legal advise online on Reddit:

I am the beneficiary to a deceased relatives account of over a million dollars and the British IRS has reported that I must pay 1% in taxes. How does this work? I live in the US and have claimed my deceased relatives account. I am in the final stages of having the inheritance transferred but the British IRS wants me to get a Tax Clearance Certificate to certify that there will be no taxes owed after the tax is deducted.
I have hired a lawyer who is qualified to represent me but I am wondering if his services are necessary. Can’t the IRS simply deduct the amount and send it to my account?
Any advice/input would be very much appreciated. Thank you.


Users there pointed to him that's a scam and the victim realized he was defrauded.

The lawyer I am in contact with does not even use a co.uk address. Not even their website uses it. I’ve payed them around $9500 that I borrowed from other and now I’m f*ing ruined.

I was initially contacted by someone posing as Julia Dunn of Nationwide Bank. She contacted me about an “opportunity” saying that the funds were just sitting in the bank waiting to “expire” and be absorbed by the government since the account was sitting too long after the original owner had passed. She said that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. She wanted me to pose as the beneficiary to someone with a similar last name and even produced a bunch if convincing documents that I needed to send to the “bank.” So in total I was in contact with three people. After some correspondence and much reluctance I went along (...). Then they introduced the lawyer.

I didn’t know how to check the lawyers legitimacy so I looked up the website (which turned out to be a scam website) and it was done well enough to convince me to pay for his services. The “lawyer” did an outstanding job at pretending like he was busy which convinced me even further. All the while the accountant is telling me to tell no one in order to not jeopardize it and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I really believed that I would have a fortune sitting in my account in a couple weeks. I now realize that I may not be as smart as I thought I was.

hlbsolicitors.com

Sun Mar 10, 2019 9:43 pm

The fake site used in scam claims to be HLB Solicitors.

From the fake site:

HLB Solicitors is a pre-eminent commercial set of barristers’ chambers in London. Members provide specialist legal advice, support and advocacy services worldwide, and the barristers’ expertise covers all areas of arbitration, litigation, regulation and dispute resolution.


we are one of the UK’s largest law firms with expert Solicitors in locations across England, Scotland and Wales. Our goal is to deliver exceptional, affordable legal services in personal, employment and business affairs.


Their team?

hlb.JPG


At least in one case there, we are talking about a stolen picture. "Hilda Miller" is a well known Canadian lawyer. Her name is not Hilda Miller.

Contact details on the fake site:

Location
71 New Road, London SE1X 6PH United Kingdom
Phone
02030954678
Email
enquiry@hlbsolicitors.com
Email :arnold.donald@hlbsolicitors.com
Email :aaron.cook@hlbsolicitors.com
Phone :+44 203 322 3261
Email :hilda.miller@hlbsolicitors.com
Email :gary.webb@hlbsolicitors.com


+442030954678
Number billable as geographic number
Country or destination United Kingdom
Original network provider* Andrews & Arnold Ltd

+442033223261
Number billable as geographic number
Country or destination United Kingdom
Original network provider* (aq) Limited trading as aql

London, UK is, in this case, in Nigeria.

For the fake site details: https://db.aa419.org/fakebanksview.php?key=136809

From the fake site details:

Domain Name: HLBSOLICITORS.COM
Updated Date: 2018-10-14
Creation Date: 2018-08-14
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2019-08-14
Registrar: PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com

Registry Registrant ID: Not Available From Registry
Registrant Name: Ralpheal Nduka
Registrant Organization: Fikitech Solutions
Registrant Street: ekewan road 0
Registrant City: benin
Registrant State/Province: edo
Registrant Postal Code: 300001
Registrant Country: NG
Registrant Phone: +234.48081960690
Registrant Email: gunners2070@gmail.com

kjsolicitors.com

Sun Mar 10, 2019 10:00 pm

There is another law firm named KJ Solicitors.

From their fake site:

we are one of the UK’s largest law firms with expert Solicitors in locations across England, Scotland and Wales. Our goal is to deliver exceptional, affordable legal services in personal, employment and business affairs.


Their team?

kj.JPG


Not only that they are using the same people like the previous one, but they are active from the same office while being yet another entity.

Contact details:

71 New Road, London SE1X 6PH United Kingdom
Phone:
02030954761 - Office
enquiry@kjsolicitors.com
arnold.donald@kjsolicitors.com
aaron.cook@kjsolicitors.com
+44 200 333 1872
hilda.miller@kjsolicitors.com
gary.webb@kjsolicitors.com


+442030954761
Number billable as geographic number
Country or destination United Kingdom
Original network provider* Andrews & Arnold Ltd

+442003331872
Number billable as geographic number
Country or destination United Kingdom
Original network provider* (aq) Limited trading as aql

In this case, we don't know where London, UK is - because the privacy protection given by the registrar hides those details for the person registering the fake website. The answer is easy, if you look to this fake website in the context of the one reported above.

For the fake site details: https://db.aa419.org/fakebanksview.php?key=136810.

From the fake site details:

Domain name: kjsolicitors.com
Updated Date: 2018-06-06
Creation Date: 2017-06-25
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2019-06-25
Registrar: NAMECHEAP INC
Domain Status: renewPeriod
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: WhoisGuard Protected

njsolicitors.com

Sun Mar 10, 2019 10:21 pm

There is also a NJ Solicitors. The domain name used in fraud is listed on the "List of Unregistered Soliciting Entities That Have Been the Subject of Investor Complaints" of the US Securities and Excenge Commision.

From the fake site:

NJ Solicitors is a pre-eminent commercial set of barristers’ chambers in London. Members provide specialist legal advice, support and advocacy services worldwide, and the barristers’ expertise covers all areas of arbitration, litigation, regulation and dispute resolution.


Their team?

nj.JPG


Contact details:

arnold.donald@njsolicitors.com
+44 203 095 4761
aaron.cook@njsolicitors.com
+44 200 333 1872
gary.webb@njsolicitors.com
hilda.miller@njsolicitors.com


The fake website doesn't mention a location for the "pre-eminent commercial set of barristers’ chambers in London", but they are using the same phone numbers as the previously reported here KJ Solicitors. Again, we don't know where London is in this case, because of the same privacy protection given by the registrar and masking the identity and location of the person creating this fake site.

For the fake site details: https://db.aa419.org/fakebanksview.php?key=136811

From the fake site details:

Domain name: njsolicitors.com
Updated Date: 2018-10-18
Creation Date: 2018-10-18
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2019-10-18
Registrar: NAMECHEAP INC
Reseller: NAMECHEAP INC
Registrant Name: WhoisGuard Protected

mspsolicitors.com

Sun Mar 10, 2019 10:35 pm

Another fake site, another made up name: Master's Place Solicitors or MSP Solicitors.

From the fake site:

MSP Solicitors is a pre-eminent commercial set of barristers’ chambers in London. Members provide specialist legal advice, support and advocacy services worldwide, and the barristers’ expertise covers all areas of arbitration, litigation, regulation and dispute resolution.


Contact details:

71 New Road, London SE1X 6PH United Kingdom.
+447451240189
enquiry@mspsolicitors.com
info@mspsolicitors.com
Barr. Pullen Walker QC
pullenwalker@mspsolicitors.com
Barr. Luzia Pinheiro QC
luziapinheiro@mspsolicitors.com
Barr. Carlos Sánchez
carlossanchez@mspsolicitors.com
Barr. Felix Bezerra QC
felixbezerra@mspsolicitors.com


+447451240189
Number billable as mobile number
Country or destination United Kingdom
Original network provider* Tismi BV

Like in all the above mentioned cases:

Chambers is comprised of over 90 full-time practitioners


Must be quite and adventure for any of those 90 people trying to answer when a mobile phone is ringing...

Despite of working in the exact same place, we have now different faces for their team:

msp.JPG


For three out of four, the fraudsters used stolen pictures of real lawyers in the UK - none of those lawyers have in real life the names mentioned on the fake site.

For the fake site details: https://db.aa419.org/fakebanksview.php?key=136812

From the fake site details:

Domain name: mspsolicitors.com
Updated Date: 2018-07-03
Creation Date: 2018-07-03
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2019-07-03
Registrar: NAMECHEAP INC
Reseller: NAMECHEAP INC
Registrant Name: WhoisGuard Protected

kwm.services

Sun Mar 10, 2019 11:15 pm

And there is KWM Solicitor. This time, the "working area" is larger:

we are one of the Global largest law firms with expert Solicitors in locations across United States of America, Turkey, Cyprus, Scotland and Wales. Our goal is to deliver exceptional, affordable legal services in personal, employment and business affairs.


KWM Solicitors is a pre-eminent commercial set of barristers’ chambers in London.


Chambers is comprised of over 90 full-time practitioners


Their team?

kwm.JPG


You might see different names, but in fact there are the same stolen pictures you saw before in this topic.

Aside their claimed London office we already know, they have now offices all over the world:

TURKISH OFFICE
Halide Edip Adivar Mh. Balci Sk. No: 20/4
SISLI -ISTANBUL TURKEY
Phone:
+90 5338826712
LONDON OFFICE
UK Address:
71 New Road, London SE1X 6PH United Kingdom
Phone: 02033221105
US OFFICE
US Address:
280 Washington Street, Hudson MA 1749
Phone: +44 1412806384
Email: ahmetayaz@kwm.services
Email: cyrilsudore@kwm.services
Email: hilda.miller@kwm.services
Email: gary.webb@kwm.services


+905338826712
Number billable as mobile number
Country or destination Cyprus, Northern
Original network provider* (KKTCell)

+442033221105
Number billable as geographic number
Country or destination United Kingdom
Original network provider* (aq) Limited trading as aql

+441412806384
Number billable as geographic number
Country or destination United Kingdom
Original network provider* aql Wholesale Limited

On a short recap, the office in Istanbul, Turkey uses a number registered in Cyprus, The UK office uses a phone number that can be used anywhere outside the UK and the US office answers to another UK phone number.

In this case it is not a registrar proxy hiding the owner creating the fake site, it is the GDPR masking the fraudster's details while respecting his privacy, despite of him operating a fraud.

For the fake site details: https://db.aa419.org/fakebanksview.php?key=136813

From the fake site details:

Domain Name: kwm.services
Updated Date: 2018-08-27
Creation Date: 2018-08-13
Registry Expiry Date: 2019-08-13
Registrar: NameCheap, Inc.
Registry Registrant ID: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY

emclaw.co.uk

Mon Mar 11, 2019 12:10 am

This time we have a lawyer ofice pretending to be Elliot & Mason Conor LLP or EMC LLP. The website looks completely different, but they pretend to have at least one office in the same Turkish location as KWM Solicitor, while using the same phone number.

From the fake site:

Lawyer's advice you can trust since 1989


We are solicitors with awards.


The forgot to mention that all the awards posted on the site are stolen from real entities earning those awards.

Our FCA Investigation unit was formed in 2002 to focus the expertise we can offer you personally from our regulatory, criminal, employment and other relevant practices.


Their team?

emc.JPG


In the first case, we have a stolen picture of one of the first consumer protection attorneys in Virginia, USA. His name is not Gabriel Ollie. The third picture is a stolen image of a judge who is the head of Philadelphia's Commerce Court - his name is not Luke Harvey. And well, we saw Nathan Blake before on few of the other sites reported here, where his name was Gary Webb.

Contact details:

Address
Broadgate Tower,
Primrose St, London EC2A 2RS
Telephone
+44 7451200933
Email
enquiry@emclaw.co.uk
Address
Halide Edip Adivar Mh. Balci Sk. No: 20/4
SISLI -ISTANBUL TURKEY
Telephone
+90 5338826712
Email
enquiry@emclaw.co.uk
Email: gabrielollie@emclaw.co.uk
Email: jaydenarthur@emclaw.co.uk
Email: lukeharvey@emclaw.co.uk


+447451200933
Number billable as mobile number
Country or destination United Kingdom
Original network provider* Tismi BV

"Our FCA Investigation unit was formed in 2002" and "Lawyer's advice you can trust since 1989" are only lies - the fake site was registered in October last year.

For the fake site details: https://db.aa419.org/fakebanksview.php?key=136814.

From the fake site details:

Domain name:
emclaw.co.uk
Registrar:
Namecheap, Inc.
Relevant dates:
Registered on: 26-Oct-2018
Expiry date: 26-Oct-2019
Last updated: 30-Oct-2018

Re: Fake lawyers and their fake websites

Thu Jul 25, 2019 10:43 am

Hello there,

Thanks for everyone are you suggest great details with me. But the problem is that fake lawyers & fake websites which process to check please deeply details sharing with me. if you can please suggest to me Which site to visit & search the correct lawyers?

FF note: hidden link removed. Please don't use spam techniques and don't try to promote yourself or your business on an anti-scam site, trying to hijack a public report meant for victims of online fraud.
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