Fake lawyer scam: digital fraud, procedural advertising, and data protection in the brazilian justice system

Abstract

This study examines the “false attorney scam” as a type of digital fraud that uses real information extracted from public court records to deceive clients of legal professionals. In this scheme, criminals impersonate the victim’s attorney through messaging applications, presenting authentic procedural data linked to the lawyer appointed in the case and promising nonexistent judicial advantages that the party believes are pending. As a result, victims are induced to make payments in order to obtain supposed procedural benefits. The study analyzes the conflict between two constitutional principles: procedural publicity, which ensures transparency in judicial acts and decisions, and the protection of personal data. It aims to identify legal measures that can reduce the vulnerabilities created by this tension. The research shows how the extensive disclosure of personal and procedural information in judicial proceedings has facilitated the activities of malicious actors and contributed to the emergence of organized digital criminal groups. The exposure of sensitive data from ongoing cases allows the scam to be tailored to each victim, particularly because many individuals are unfamiliar with the structure and functioning of the judicial process. When contacted through messages that appear to be from their lawyer, victims often trust the information and make fraudulent payments, only later realizing they have fallen prey to the false attorney scam. This scenario makes the scheme especially attractive to criminal agents, given the ease of accessing judicial information and the high potential for financial gain. Conducted through bibliographical, documentary, and normative analysis, the research seeks to identify institutional and technological measures to address the issue, such as implementing stricter access controls to judicial data, an initiative already adopted by some state and federal courts in Brazil. The study demonstrates that the current configuration of electronic judicial systems has expanded the circulation of sensitive information, increasing the sophistication of such frauds. It concludes that improving access-control mechanisms is not enough; it is also necessary to reassess which personal data of parties and attorneys should remain public, in order to harmonize the constitutional principles of publicity and data protection, mitigate risks, and enhance the security of litigants and legal professionals.