Security notice
Fake lawyer scam: how to confirm it is Dr. Jin
Scammers use lawyers' names and photos on WhatsApp to ask for money, claiming there is an amount from a court case waiting to be released. Before you pay anything, check Jin Advocacia's official channels here and how to confirm who is writing to you.
The rule
Nobody charges to release money from a court case
If someone asks you to pay to release an amount, be suspicious, even if the person knows the number and details of your case.
The courts do not charge
Brazilian courts do not charge fees, court costs or taxes to release an amount from a case. The amount is released with no advance payment from the person who will receive it.
Dr. Jin does not ask for Pix
Dr. Jin does not ask for Pix payments (Brazil's instant transfer system) or bank transfers to release money from a case, by message or by phone call.
Court costs use an official form
Real court costs are paid with an official court payment form, never by Pix or transfer to the account of a person or an unknown company.
Official channels
Jin Advocacia's channels
Dr. Jin uses a single WhatsApp number, the one below. A message with his name or photo from any other number is not from him: do not pay anything, and confirm through this number. Save it in your phone contacts: that way, a message from another number shows up as unknown.
Dr. Jin, lawyer, OAB/PR 44.695. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Brazil time), in Portuguese or Spanish.
+55 (45) 9 9807-7668 (opens in a new tab)Office
Rua Almirante Barroso 1293, sala 1204, Centro, Foz do Iguaçu, PR, CEP 85851-010
Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
How to confirm
Got a message? Confirm before you pay
Three steps
- Do not pay and do not open links. Do not send Pix, deposits or transfers, and do not open links sent in the conversation.
- Write to Dr. Jin on his only WhatsApp, +55 (45) 9 9807-7668, and ask. Do not reply to the number that asked for money.
- Check with the OAB (the Brazilian Bar Association). In the National Registry of Lawyers (Cadastro Nacional dos Advogados), at cna.oab.org.br (opens in a new tab), search for registration number 44695, section (“Seccional”) Paraná. The site is in Portuguese. It shows the name Hyon Jin Choi, the status “Regular” (in good standing) and the office address, Rua Almirante Barroso 1293, in Foz do Iguaçu. The search is free and does not ask for any of your personal details.
Signs of a scam
- “New number”: the person says Dr. Jin changed his number, or that this is the office's new number.
- Pressure: they ask you to pay today, or else the amount “goes back” or the case “is closed”.
- A request for Pix or a deposit to release an amount, called court costs, a fee, a tax or an “alvará” (the court's payment order).
- Someone else's account: the payment goes to a person or company you do not know.
- Case details prove nothing. Scammers often know the case number, the names and the amount. An audio message with a similar voice, a video call or a document with the OAB or court logo prove nothing either: there are already scams with voices imitated by artificial intelligence, fake video hearings and forged documents.
If you have already paid
Do this today, in this order
- Talk to your bank. If you paid by Pix from a Brazilian bank, look in the app's Pix area for the option to dispute the transfer or request a refund for fraud (the name varies from bank to bank). The deadline is up to 80 days from the transfer, but the sooner you act, the more likely the money is still in the scammer's account. If you paid from a bank in another country or by other means, contact your bank today.
- Report it to the police. For events that happened in the state of Paraná (Brazil), the police report can be filed online at policiacivil.pr.gov.br/BO (opens in a new tab), under the “Estelionato” (fraud) option; the site is in Portuguese. Elsewhere, report it to the police where you live.
- Let the office know. Send through Dr. Jin's WhatsApp (opens in a new tab) the number that contacted you, the Pix key or account the money went to, screenshots of the conversation and the receipt.
Keep all messages and do not delete the conversation with the scammer.
Sources (in Portuguese)
- Central Bank of Brazil, MED Guide (Pix disputes and the 80-day deadline) (opens in a new tab)
- Labor Courts: alert about the court-costs scam (Regional Labor Court, 3rd Region) (opens in a new tab)
- Court of Justice of Tocantins: alert about payments to release amounts (opens in a new tab)
- OAB Paraná: real case data, AI-imitated voices and fake hearings (opens in a new tab)
- OAB Paraná: fake hearings and documents with the OAB and TJPR logos (opens in a new tab)
- Civil Police of Paraná: online police report (opens in a new tab)
When in doubt, confirm before you pay
Write to Dr. Jin at +55 (45) 9 9807-7668. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Brazil time); if the message arrives outside those hours, wait for the reply before paying anything.