The Minister of the Interior reportedly received numerous complaints about transfer scams. As our colleagues from RTL explain, the deception seems very well organized and it is when the victims least expect it that the trap closes on them.
With the massive arrival of online payment in the last 24 months, in particular because of the pandemic, the general public has lowered its guard against scams, which, for their part, have never been so numerous and complex to identify. .
A scam that has already paid off
Still according to information from RTL, the ministry has appealed for vigilance to holidaymakers who have not yet made their reservation. Because the crooks attack precisely these transfers which must pay our holidays to fill the pockets.
They manage, thanks to a still unknown stratagem, to embezzle the funds between the tenant and the owner of a property. The transfer normally starts from the customer’s account, but the owner will never see the color of it, it will be intercepted on the way. According to the first clues given by the investigators, the criminals would act even upstream of the transfer.
They would manage to recover the RIB and IBAN sent by the owners, to divert the transfer and receive it in their place. Typically, it takes customers a few days to figure out the deception, but that’s long enough for the eskers to have time to move the funds, making them untraceable.
The Ministry of the Interior reminds us that the best way to avoid this kind of scam is to never communicate your RIB or IBAN by e-mail. Because the phenomenon is growing. Since April 2022, more than 300 complaints have been reported in France for this kind of scam.
A figure that greatly underestimates the phenomenon, a significant number of victims not wanting to file a complaint for this kind of facts. According to the first deductions, the total amount stolen could reach tens of millions of euros.
Chances of being reimbursed are slim
If you are a victim of this kind of scam, the best thing to do is to file a complaint against X, the exact identity of the scammer is not known. The authorities are also advising to start discussions with the banking establishments, although the “chances of being reimbursed are slim”.
As a reminder, it is not possible to be reimbursed against a scam (with very rare exceptions). Unlike fraud, which is covered by most bank insurance. It is therefore better to have your bank card stolen in the metro than to give your bank details to a stranger. Although we don’t wish you either.
