Due to current events, we have to warn our site visitors against fraudsters. There is no risk for our existing clients or for our future clients. Our systems have not been compromised.

Nature of the Scam: Replicating the Website

Third parties have replicated our website and registered it under a domain containing our law firm’s name. This could not have been prevented from our side and such scams often affect larger banks and state institutions as well as law firms such as ours: Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB.

The strategy of Fraudsters: Threats & Promises

In such website scams, fraudsters tend to write to strangers and put them under pressure to make a payment. For example, the fraudsters tell third parties that a criminal charge or an arrest warrant has been filed against them and that lawyer X from our law firm can defend them. Likewise, they write to third parties with promises of an alleged inheritance, which, however, can only be released after payment of “taxes”.

10 Clues for Potential Victims of Phishing Scam by Fake Copy of our Website

These techniques are not new, but still dangerous, especially if the copied website looks genuine and serious. But there are ways to check the authenticity.

  1. We, Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB, never write to strangers by e-mail or short message to inform them of any criminal proceedings.
  2. If there is an official and plausible reason to contact you, we will do so in parallel by post. The less likely the described reasons are for contacting you, the more cautious you should be.
  3. Be careful if any inheritances or other sums of money are promised, the release of which requires payment.
  4. Check that the named employee exists on our website team page.
  5. Check whether the URL of the website shown or the email received matches ours (se-legal.de).
  6. German telephone numbers and fax numbers can be found in various places on our website. The scammers often try to delete them because they cannot answer these calls.
  7. Often the scammers name a bank account after a certain point. Our official bank account is that of the Kreissparkasse Heinsberg with the BIC WELADED1ERK. We do not use another bank account for our clients.
  8. We will not contact you without a valid reason.
  9. Check all provided identities, websites & profiles for integrity check if they are duplicate profiles. Also, check for changes in spelling.
  10. In case of doubt: Always contact us by alternative means.

Your security is very important to us. We promise that we are doing everything in our power to stop this fraud and to bring those responsible to justice.