General criminal law
Warning: a new fraud scheme
Contact made through the misuse of personal data
We wish to point out that a new fraud scheme is currently circulating. People who have in fact been harmed by fraud offences in the recent past are contacted via WhatsApp, apparently by a lawyer, in this case supposedly by Ms Elger-Günther. She first introduces herself by her first name and claims to help victims of fraud offences recover their assets. In this way, the recipients of these messages are induced to send personal data and documents to the apparent lawyer. What makes this particularly insidious: the full name of a real lawyer and her photograph from the website are used without permission for this deception.
The sender's user profile can be identified as fake by several indications: the mobile number linked to the WhatsApp account does not match the number stated on our website. In addition, the e-mail address linked to the WhatsApp account does not end with the domain @hanse-strafrecht.de, but with that of a provider mainly used by private individuals (for example @gmail.com).
Neither Ms Elger-Günther nor Ms von Burgsdorff will contact you through channels such as WhatsApp. Nor do we ever write to you on our own initiative; contact only takes place after you have approached our firm.
If you have received a WhatsApp message of the kind described above, please do not send any personal data or documents under any circumstances. It is best to file a criminal complaint with the police immediately. If you are not entirely sure whether you have in fact been contacted by Ms Elger-Günther or Ms von Burgsdorff, feel free to call us at the office to clear up any doubts.
The proceedings described here have been concluded. The outcome of any case always depends on its individual circumstances.