Ride the Lightning

Phony Law Firm Websites Steal Real Lawyers' Photos and Content

August 26, 2014

As The Mirror reported recently, lawyers have something else to worry about. This is Karl Johnson – who is supposed to be a very successful lawyer at Dovernor Chambers. According to its website, Dovernor is an internationally recognized London law firm. But it's a fake.

The real Karl Johnson works for a legal practice in Kansas. Another supposed member of the London staff pictured on the website is Mike Scarton, but he’s based in Indiana. And the text on the website, such as the claim “Many of our lawyers are leaders in their field”, has been lifted from the site of a genuine firm of London lawyers.

Dovernor Chambers is one of a huge number of bogus legal firms set up by scam artists to give an air of authority to their frauds.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority says it is getting “more and more reports” of fake law firms, uncovering as many as one a day. Wow.

How do they use the fake websites? They give legitimacy when you receive an e-mail from the firm telling you that you have an inheritance (a variant on the Nigerian frauds) but have to pay fees to cover taxes or customs duties.

Or maybe you've won the lottery (somewhere) but need to pre-pay taxes before receiving some princely amount.

Or you're entitled to compensation for an accident, but certain advance fees must be paid.

You get the idea. There are thousands of ways to skin this cat (which happens to be you). Lawyers beware!

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