• U.S. federal courts have alerted lawyers nationwide to a phishing scam that mimics electronic court filing (ECF) notices.

• Fraudulent emails ask recipients to open a link to a malicious site, posing risks to sensitive information and system security.

• The full scope of the scam is not yet known.

The U.S. federal judiciary on Wednesday, November 6, issued a public warning of an email phishing scam targeting attorneys, law firms, and other legal professionals, according to a Reuters report.

• The scam emails are crafted to look like official notifications of court filings, aiming to mislead recipients into visiting a malicious website.

• These phishing emails appear genuine, often mirroring the look and language of legitimate court filing notifications. 

• However, if a recipient responds, they receive a follow-up email containing a link to a fake document portal, which leads to a website that installs viruses and other harmful software. 

Lawyers handling sensitive cases and those working with highly confidential information are particularly vulnerable to these cyber-attacks.

Urgency and Response from Federal Courts

A spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts stated that the judiciary moved quickly to alert the public, as soon as it found out about the issue on Wednesday. 

Although the extent of the phishing campaign remains unclear, the judiciary quickly moved "to alert the public so people could protect themselves," the spokesperson said.

• The courts said lawyers should validate cases through the federal judiciary's official electronic filing system if they receive the emails. 

• The courts urged attorneys not to download attached files or click on links from unofficial sources.

The FBI, which investigates cyber crimes, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.