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by sandworm101 3341 days ago
I've got a similar problem with my own face. Scammers take public information from bar associations (I'm a lawyer) and build fake profiles using photos from firm websites. As I don't have any facebook account myself, finding and reporting these is a real difficulty. Most large law firms have someone dedicated to protecting the firm's name on social media but small firms just don't have the time.

FYI, don't believe anything said by a "lawyer" on facebook. We don't ever start communications that way. Visit the local bar association's website and check the lawyer's real contact info before saying anything.
2 comments
mirimir 3341 days ago
It sounds like they're using your name, not just your face. Or are they just creating plausible fake lawyers? And what's the game? I can imagine that they're soliciting "customers", who they'll go on to dupe and rip off.

I do like your profile, by the way. It sounds like the lawyer-expert dynamic to me.

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sandworm101 3341 days ago
They send threatening messages to people that include links and data from firm/bar websites to make it seem as if it comes from a real lawyer. In extreme cases they setup entirely fake websites with data harvested from legit law firms.

No lawyer will send a threat via facebook. And no lawyer will ever demand a payment via bitcoin or gift cards.

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mirimir 3341 days ago
I am still too naive :(

So they scam people into "settling" fake litigation. Over Facebook. And many people, who of course don't have much of a clue, fall for it. Amazing. But some of them, frightened and angry, contact your firm.

In some other world, where GnuPG had become widely used, legal communications would be signed, and people could just check signatures. That wouldn't help for fake websites, however.

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15155 3341 days ago
> Most large law firms have someone dedicated to protecting the firm's name on social media

Which, in cases of fraud or scams, is a fine effort - in the cases of SLAPPs, not so much.

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sandworm101 3341 days ago
Law firms arent coke or pepsi. They generally dont care about public opinion. Only client opinion matters. What they dont want to see is thier name being used for criminal activity. But being seen as dark and scary isnt always a bad thing (see Wolfram & Heart).
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