Exposed: The Increasing Scam of Bank Fraud in Rennes

“It’s a really terrible scam, I didn’t think it was possible. » Almost a month after the events, Sarah is still having trouble getting over it. While bank scams are increasing in Rennes, this 30-year-old debt collector has added her name to the long list of victims. After losing around €19,000, she testifies.

“In mid-August, I received a call from my sister who was in panic. She explained to me that she had been the victim of bank fraud, but luckily an advisor had just contacted her and they were able to resolve it together. At the end of their exchange, the advisor told him that he was also going to call me because we are at the same bank and I was apparently also a victim. »

Technique du spoofing

Particularly worried following this exchange with her sister, Sarah keeps her phone with her while waiting for this call. A few moments later, the bell rang. Online, the interlocutor presents himself as an advisor from the fraud department of his bank. Sarah checks to make sure the number matches… and it does.

This technique, called spoofing, is a new method used in banking scams. “This allows crooks to display, on a victim’s phone, the number of their own bank branch or the national number of the bank card opposition center,” the Rennes police recently told us.

Transfers abroad

With confidence, Sarah listens attentively to the instructions of her interlocutor. “He told me that suspicious movements had been made on my account. From my application on my phone, I noticed that a transfer of €19,000 had been made between my savings account and my checking account. It scared me a lot.”

We feel like we’re going to lose all our savings

The false advisor tells him that this movement was made in order to then make transfers to accounts abroad. “He told me that several transfers had already been sent but that they did not yet appear on the application. To get reimbursed, he gave me instructions, asking me to create a new beneficiary in my name with a very specific RIB. He also made me make transfers with a virtual card. For these different operations, I needed my validation with double authentication. At the end of the call, he told me that everything was OK, that my accounts were safe and that I would soon receive a new credit card. I thanked him because I was relieved. »

Fake bank advisor

But the scammer doesn’t stop there. A few moments after speaking with Sarah, he contacts his parents – via his sister – who are also customers of the same bank. “He told them they were also victims of fraud, but my mother was immediately suspicious. She asked him to name the name of his own advisor and he couldn’t tell her even though he knew mine and my sister’s. She immediately hung up and warned us that we had probably been victims of a scam. » Amount of damage: €19,000 for Sarah, €3,000 for her sister.

At the moment, the Rennaise suffered the blow. “It’s hard, we feel like we’re going to lose all our savings.” The thirty-year-old quickly filed an objection with her bank and filed a complaint with the police, but it was already too late.

More than 170 complaints in Rennes in 2023

“Looking back, I feel stupid…. However, at the time, in a rush, it is difficult to realize that you are the victim of a scam. For me, I was really on the phone with a banking advisor. He spoke French very well and knew his subject perfectly. In addition, there had indeed been a movement on my account that I had not authorized initially and the scammer guided me as if he saw everything that was happening on my profile at the same time. He had to have a certain level of access, it was unstoppable.”

Since this scam, Sarah admits to having become a little “paranoid”. “I uninstalled my bank app on my phone, I will never put it back. I no longer trust anything.”

A fight to get reimbursed

In addition to her sister, she begins looking for other victims of this type of scam. “I found several throughout Brittany – many of them young. The majority were from the same bank as mine.” Since January 1, the police have recorded more than 170 complaints linked to banking scams in the Rennes sector.

I don’t consider myself to have been negligent

For Sarah, it’s time for a new fight. Try to get reimbursed by your bank for the stolen amount. “I wrote letters of complaint. They told me that they could only reimburse me part because they accused me of negligence. However, I do not consider that I was negligent. For the moment, I have only recovered €8,000.”

2023-09-12 01:45:44
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