Scammer using attorney's name is math-impaired; newbie lawyers also targeted
A scammer using a Florida lawyer’s name to collect a fake debt has a problem with numbers.
The scammer used a fake letterhead with the name of Jacksonville personal-injury lawyer Rick Block, News4Jax reports. The letter advises potential victims that they owe money on a $300 loan, and they must pay $800 to avoid jail.
Block received a call from a woman about making the payment and reported the scam to local police and the Florida Bar. He tells News4Jax the letter has some inconsistencies.
“On the last page it says if you want to make it right, we’ll take a one-time payment of $800 or three biweekly payments of $200, which is only $600 so it just doesn’t make sense,” Block said.
Block said the Florida Bar told him that several scams in the state focus on new lawyers who recently passed the bar. The scammers build fake websites using the names of the new lawyers, then threaten potential victims with lawsuits to get them to pay money.