Nasty fraud after commercial/company register entry: A new legal entity is then usually entered in the commercial register via the responsible local court. This data can also be accessed online via the commercial register or comparable portals.
Perpetrators use this opportunity to send unauthorized and counterfeit invoices shortly after publication there.
The federal and state justice portal already warns online in general about possible fraud schemes:
“In connection with the online services and announcements in the federal and state justice portals, the state judicial administrations and the Federal Ministry of Justice warn against – sometimes misleading – offers, requests for payment and invoices that do not come from judicial authorities.
Recently there has been an increasing number of cases in which various companies - sometimes using letters designed similar to those of authorities or protected domain names such as
:
B. www.handelsregisternachrichten.de – “Services” such as: B. offer entry in unofficial registers or similar. In some cases, payment requests are simply sent for entries that have already been made in official registers. The offers, payment requests, invoices and transfer forms from these companies sometimes appear to be official forms. However, such letters have no legal effect on their own and do not constitute a payment obligation to the exhibitor.”
The Federal Gazette also warns against such fraudsters.
A list of “unfair providers” is also published here.
The perpetrators create official-looking cover letters and contact the contact persons of the newly registered legal entity (companies/companies/etc.) listed in the commercial register, company register, federal gazette, etc. by post.
For example, the cover letters are provided with the coats of arms of the respective federal states and the recipients are asked to make a payment to a bank account named there. The perpetrators provide the correct data (e.g. publication date, HRA number, district court, etc.).
In our two examples below, a newly founded KG (limited partnership) from Hanover was contacted directly afterwards by post. The Lower Saxony coat of arms and the name “Central Paying Agency for Justice” were used once. The rest of the letter also looks real to the layperson.
In addition, a ready-made SEPA transfer slip was enclosed. The second letter allegedly comes from the “Central Paying Office for Justice” in Hamm and bears the state coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia. Both letters specify an account abroad as the transfer destination (IE and BE according to the IBAN). We also point out that payment must be made quickly (deadline 1 week / 3 days). This payment deadline is probably chosen by the perpetrators because it is very likely that the real payment request from the real responsible local court will reach the recipient shortly afterwards. The perpetrators have to be quick if they want to be successful.
What can I do if I am affected?
Anyone who has received such a letter has the opportunity to report the attempted fraud or, after payment has already been made, the fraud to the local police or via the relevant online watchdog . You can also inform your local court about the circumstances. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of a letter, please use the opportunity to contact your local court using the official contact options. Do not use the contact details that you find in the possibly fake letter.
If you have already made a transfer, you should contact your local bank immediately. After just a few hours, the transfer may no longer be able to be stopped.
The Hanover District Court (as an example) shows the correct bank details for incoming transfers own website This can therefore be compared. Check whether your local court also offers this.
You can find an informational overview of which legal entities are registered in the commercial register A (HRA) and B (HRB) here at the Hanover District Court .
Source: Police Prevention
Also read: “Financial Market Authority”: Beware of rip-off emails!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )