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Unregistered
07-27-2009, 10:38 PM
How can I find out if a law firm are really a law firm in spain http://www.hermanncruzado.com/contactus.htm

Lawbird Lawyer
07-28-2009, 08:55 AM
Dear Sir/Madam,

I must admit that scammers are improving setting up these fake Spanish law firm's webpages.

Being factual:

1. The phone number given is a cell phone. No Spanish law firm would give you a mobile albeit a land line, for Portugal's branch office they don't even bother to give a phone number:

http://www.hermanncruzado.com/contactus.htm

Calle Juan de Ajuriaguerra 17
48009 Bilbao
Spain.
Telephone: +34 6 72 57 00 63

Branch Office:
Avenida Miguel Bombarda 129
1050 - 164 Lisboa
Portugal



2. All lawyers' names, except for one, are foreign probably Portuguese.

3. None of the lawyers mentioned in the law firm's profile are registered to practice in Spain.

4. The web "hermanncruzado.com" was set up on the 26th January 2009 and has only been reserved for a year until 2010. Law firms normally reserve their web domains for 5 years plus. Scammers typically do it only for a year because they know they are not going to be around for long...they will move on to their next scam.

Domain Name: HERMANNCRUZADO.COM
Registrar: 1 & 1 INTERNET AG
Whois Server: whois.schlund.info
Referral URL: http://REGISTRAR.SCHLUND.INFO
Name Server: NS1.WEHOSTINTERNET.COM
Name Server: NS2.WEHOSTINTERNET.COM
Status: ok
Updated Date: 04-feb-2009
Creation Date: 26-jan-2009
Expiration Date: 26-jan-2010

5. When you click on some of the lawyer's names the surnames change. i.e. from Mr Mario Jimenez Cruzado over to Mario Berlanga Cruzado or Ms Mariana de Moneroe over to Mariana de Monroe, Ruth Almeida over to Dr Ruth H. Almeida.

6. All law firms in which they've practiced are non-Spanish. In fact, they are probably false as well.

7. All lawyers are "Dr". Normally there are no Drs working in Spanish law firms, they are at university. In this law firm strangely enough all five lawyers happen to be doctors. This is just done by scammers to add credibility.

I could go on and on but I think that we can safely conclude this is a fake website. Perhaps they've taken some legitimate Portuguese's law firm's website and they've cloned it.

I'll add them to my list of bogus Spanish law firms (http://www.marbella-lawyers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=382).

I strongly suggest you read the following articles written by us:

1. Careful with Scammers Posing as Spanish Lawyers (http://belegal.com/wordpress/careful-with-scammers-posing-as-spanish-lawyers/) - 18th March 2009

2. Public Warning.-Scammers passing themselves off as Spanish lawyers and law firms (http://www.marbella-lawyers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=382)

3. 9 Tips on How to Determine if an Offer is a Scam (http://belegal.com/wordpress/9-tips-on-how-to-determine-if-an-offer-is-a-scam/)- 17th October 2008



We are receiving a dozen queries every day asking about the legitimacy of certain offer, generally received by email or over the phone after a cold call. Unfortunately, we cannot analyze case by case, and therefore will provide a set of useful hints which will help you evaluate the legitimacy of the company or individual yourself.

The list below is provided in no particular order:

1. Is the domain name old enough? By means of a Whois search you can find out when the domain name was registered. If it’s only a few weeks old, be suspicious.

2. Are they using mobiles? – If the phones used as contact numbers are mobile numbers instead of land lines, it’s definitely not a good sign. In Spain, mobile numbers start by +34 6..

3. Have you been contacted out of the blue? – If you where cold called, or received an email from someone you don’t know, ask yourself why these people have your contact details.

4. Are you being requested to pay money upfront? This is the single most worrying point if it comes in conjunction of with one or more of the above.

5. Are they requesting you a money transfer through Western Union or similar?

6. Is the offer too good to be true? If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

7. Is the company properly registered? – Although it’s something positive if they can provide you with company registration details, you shouldn’t give this point too much importance. Fraudsters have been registering companies for decades with the sole purpose of deceiving (e.g. dozens of companies where incorporated by fraudsters to conduct the infamous Timeshare Resale Scam (http://www.lawbird.com/news/view/4))

8. Is the address for their offices correct? – Not sure why, fraudsters tend to provide you with fake addresses which don’t really exist. Check any of the online street directories and find out if the address provided is correct.

9. Something strange about their names? Funny names such as “Woley Fernandez” or “Barrister Perez Santos ESQ” are names made up by Nigerians conducting 419 advance fee scams (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0e-pPfITts&feature=related) (the terms “Barrister” or “ESQ” don’t exist in Spanish law). Also, fraudsters tend to cite fake organisms such as “The Ministry of Finance” or “The Security Company”.

10. What others are saying – Use search engines to find information about the company. Try putting the company in inverted comas, and add terms like “scam” or “fraud”. The company or individual you mention might have already been reported online as fraudsters by other people.

Needless to say, the above list shouldn’t be taken as definitive, nor the absolute legitimacy o illegitimacy of a company established based on one or more of the above points. You can use it, however, to personally evaluate the risk of the transaction.

My recommendation is that you never pay any moneys upfront if you have been contacted out of the blue. However, if you have to, before doing so always suggest the use of an escrow company (chosen by you) to hold the funds until the product or service has been delivered. If they refuse, I recommend that you back off.

Always remember; have a lawyer analyze the transaction before making any up-front payments.

Unregistered
07-29-2009, 10:28 AM
Your post is really helpful and it is nice to know I was right in thinking from the outset that it is a scam. I too was puzzled to receive a letter addressed to me out of the blue yesterday. This one didn't ask for anything other than to telephone their nice partner and appeared to be some sort of hook as it reliably informed me that some nice company had 700,000 plus Euros for me apparently from a lottery win I hadn't entered. Out of curiosity I googled their name and up popped their 'website' but there were no Spanish registered firms of that name.

Lawbird Lawyer
07-29-2009, 10:33 AM
You're welcome.

We posted an article almost a decade ago on the the Lottery scam, you may want to read it:

Lottery Fraud: Yet Another Scam (http://www.marbella-lawyers.com/articles/showArticle/gordo-sweepstakes-scam) - 24th September 2001

Regards,