E-mail Disclaimer
NOTICE: If you have received an e-mail from van Berings, the e-mail message and all attachments transmitted with it are intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain legally privileged and confidential information. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of the message or its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received a message in error, please notify the sender immediately by replying to the message and please delete it from your computer.
PLEASE NOTE that all incoming e-mails will be automatically scanned by us and by an external service provider to eliminate unsolicited promotional e-mails (“spam”). This could result in deletion of a legitimate e-mail before it is read by its intended recipient at our firm. Please inform us if you have concerns about this automatic filtering.
Frauds and Scams
The trademark and tradename “van Berings”, the specific name of any Member Firm and the names of our Partners, Counsels or staff may be used in connection with fraudulent schemes, including fraudulent e-mails, letters or phone calls.
These scams may take many forms and are subject to constant change. In some cases, they may be seeking personal or confidential information, in others they may be requesting advance payment or debt settlement. Typically these scams or frauds are carried out by fake emails suggesting you may receive a financial benefit. The emails often also contain links to supposedly relevant websites. To be effective the scam or fraud requires you to enter into communication with the fraudster, either by responding to the email or clicking the attached link.
Recent examples of scam practices include the following:
Third parties purporting to be, or act on behalf of, van Berings using a fraudulent domain, such as “van-berings.com”, “van Berings-partner.com”, or “van Berings-legal.com”. Please be informed that van Berings’ legitimate website is at www.vanberings.com.
Third parties impersonating van Berings’ partners or staff using email addresses provided by Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook or Hotmail. Please be informed that van Berings does not use Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook or Hotmail or similar e-mail addresses.
Legal communications from
van Berings partners and staff will only originate from the domain “@vanberings.com”.
Marketing communications may come from the following domains: “@mail.vanberings.com” or “@vanberings.com”.
Sometimes clients are at risk of fraud by criminals who attempt to inform them of incorrect bank details. van Berings does not regularly change its bank details. Our bank details are presented on our invoices. If these bank details are different from those currently held by a client, they should contact our Office Manager before making payment. Clients should take appropriate steps to satisfy themselves that the bank details they hold for the firm are accurate.
What to do
Always exercise caution in relation to unexpected or unusual communications, particularly where they exhibit any of the above features.
In case of email communications which appear to be sent by our Firm we suggest the following:
- do not open or click on any links contained in the email
- do not open or download any attachments to the email
- do not respond to the email in any way or provide any personal or confidential information in reply to the email
- do not send any money in response to the email
- have the suspicious message inspected by your organization’s IT support team
- delete permanently the message from your email account
If case of telephone calls from someone claiming to be from van Berings, we suggest the following:
- attempt to independently verify the legitimacy of the caller’s identity
- do not send the caller any money
- do not give the caller any personal or financial information about yourself
- report the call to the relevant authorities
If you have questions about the security of your computer or suspect the security of your computer has been compromised, we recommend you contact your IT support team, computer manufacturer or your Internet service provider.
Anti-money Laundering Anti-bribery and Anti-corruption
In the jurisdictions in which it operates, van Berings is required to identify clients for the purposes of applicable anti-money laundering legislation. Among other elements, the type of client, its business and the geographical location will determine the due diligence standard and documentary evidence we are required to obtain in order to comply with this obligation. Where possible, we will obtain this information from publicly available sources but in circumstance where the information is not available we will need to obtain the information directly from our clients. Information provided to us for these purposes may be shared with other Member Firms or van Berings Partner Firms for the same purposes. If we are not able obtain all the necessary documentation within a reasonable time frame we may not be able to act for you.
van Berings is required to comply with a variety of anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws across the jurisdictions in which operates. van Berings has anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies and procedures which apply to all our partners and employees worldwide. These policies prohibit the making, offering or promising to make a payment or transfer of anything of value including the provision of any service, gift or entertainment for any improper purpose or business advantage. These policies apply to dealings with all third parties on our behalf. In particular, they prohibit such dealings with government personnel and other officials for the purpose of improperly obtaining or retaining business or for any other improper purpose or business advantage.