A new scam has just appeared and could ruin your next vacation if you fall for it.
With the summer, scams are more and more numerous and the crooks are now attacking the holidays of the French. While summer is the time when it is good to rest and clear your head, some holidaymakers also have their bank account emptied. This is the case of this scam at the restaurant which ruined the relaxation break of many people or that of the toll which spares no one. This time, RTL echoes a particularly well-crafted scam that can make you lose a lot of money. A scam that originates on vacation rental booking platforms.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, numerous complaints were lodged this summer for bank transfer scams. Indeed, the thugs seem to have a well-rehearsed scheme to steal money from their victims. When they decide to rent this sumptuous villa by the sea or this charming chalet lost in the forest, they contact the owner. The latter then sends you his bank identifier by email so that you can proceed to payment. Along the way, the scammers intercept this email and exchange the owner’s information with their own. The transaction is therefore carried out from your account to that of the crooks, via the false RIB and the false IBAN that they have provided to you.
Bank transfer scam, an expensive scam
Once the deception has been identified, It is already too late. Your money for the dream week at sea has evaporated along with your crooks. This is why the ministry calls for the greatest vigilance if you are about to book a vacation or a weekend.
This bank transfer scam not limited to holiday bookings. Indeed, some scammers use this technique to recover money when you make payments to the notary or for craftsmen’s invoices. Since April 2022, nearly 300 complaints have been recorded. For the time being, it is difficult to know how many victims have been reimbursed because “most scammers use an assumed name” and manage to remain incognito until their next misdeed.
If you have been the victim of this scam, do not hesitate to go to a police station and file a complaint against X. To request a refund, a civil procedure exists, but for this, you will be defrauded of proving negligence by the bank or the booking platform.