James Olsen, left, with fellow lawyer John Munro. (File pic)
A lawyer who had his name used on a fake website has won a court order, demanding the site be removed from the internet.
James Olsen is a barrister based in Auckland.
In June, he discovered a website with the domain name jamesolsennz.com.
It features a photograph that appears to have been copied and pasted from his own site with a different phone number and email address.
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Stuff called the phone number listed on the site. The man on the other end had never heard of Olsen and Stuff’s call was the first inquiry about Olsen that he had received.
In an affidavit filed with the High Court in Auckland, Olsen said he has received an email that appears to show at least one person has been duped by the site.
In his affidavit, he said the website appears to be a scam designed to trick people into paying an upfront fee. He also noted a false LinkedIn page had also been created in his name.
Using a free online tool, Olsen discovered the site was registered in March and updated in June and again in July.
He filed a complaint to the police and the website’s host NameSilo LLC. The company, based in the US, said they would only remove the site if Olsen could get a US court order.
The police also contacted the host and were advised the site appears to be operated out of Nigeria.
Olsen also made contact with the Law Society, but they told him they could not do anything.
He then turned to the courts to seek a takedown order.
Lawrence Smith/Stuff
Justice Simon Moore at the High Court At Auckland. (File photo)
After considering the case, Justice Simon Moore issued a ruling on Friday.
The judge said the website posed an “obvious risk” to the public.
“Members of the public who seek assistance from lawyers in the administration of justice may fall victim to scams of this nature.”
He said the fake website could undermine the public’s confidence in the integrity of the profession.
“Parties and potential clients seeking legal assistance may also send sensitive information to the contact details wrongly believing the website is genuine. Inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information plainly undermines the administration of justice.”
Justice Moore said a takedown order was justified.
Anyone wishing to verify the identity of a lawyer and their contact details can search the register of lawyers maintained by the New Zealand Law Society.
Stuff contacted the society for comment but is yet to receive a response.
Olsen told Stuff he has sent the judgment to the host and the organisation responsible for domain name management, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. He is yet to receive a response.
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