NC Lawyers Targeted in “State Bar Association” Phishing Scam
If you get an email from the “State Bar Association,” do not click on it under any circumstances.
There is no such organization, and you’ve just become the target of a phishing scam.
Cyber-criminals have sent at least one North Carolina lawyer a phony email in an effort to ensnare them in a phishing scheme. The email says the recipient is the subject of a Bar grievance. The message contains a hyperlink to an “attached document” that purportedly provides information about the grievance.
Anyone who opens the email and clicks on the link will take the phish bait and allow hackers entry into their computer system.
News of the scheme reached the offices of the NC State Bar, which placed this Alert on its website. Warnings were also posted on the State Bar’s Facebook page and Twitter account.
Here is the NC State Bar Alert:
“A member of the North Carolina State Bar received a scam email purporting to be from “the State Bar Association.” The sender’s address in this particular email is barbara.stein@nagts.org, but the email addresses used in these scams may vary. This is not a State Bar email address. The email reads:
Hello,
This is a notice that a grievance has been filed against you. The State Bar works to maintain high ethical standards in the legal profession, and we have established a system to review complaints against lawyers for misconduct. After thoroughly investigating the complaint, the Bar Counsel has determined a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct has taken place.
You can view the grievance in the attached document.
Regards,
Barbara Stein
The State Bar Association
The email instructs the recipient to click on the attachment to view the grievance.
The State Bar did not send this email and would never send an email with this content. This is a phishing scam that has appeared in many states across the country.
PLEASE DO NOT CLICK ON THE ATTACHMENT. PLEASE DELETE THIS EMAIL.
When warranted, the State Bar sends emails like this about matters of significant importance to the entire profession. Additionally, the State Bar will post scam alerts and additional news updates on its social media pages: facebook.com/ncstatebar and twitter.com/ncstatebar. Follow these pages to receive additional updates.”
