The ACPR, the French financial services watchdog, said Thursday that it had placed 1,262 sites or entities offering financial products without authorization on its “black list” last year, with losses reaching dozens or even tens for victims. hundreds of thousands of euros.
Almost all of the fraudulent offers concern false loans or savings accounts and, for more than 53% of them, usurp the identity of an establishment or financial intermediary duly authorized to market such products, explains the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR) in a press release. The list also concerns payment services or insurance contracts.
A scam of up to 1000000 euros
Among the files received by the ACPR in 2023, the average loss observed concerning false booklets amounts to 93,000 euros, with even a file worth 1 million euros, a spokesperson told AFP. Concerning false credits, the average loss is 13,000 euros, but can be higher in certain cases, up to 60,000 euros last year. The victims who reported to the Authority belonged to all socio-professional categories. These amounts have been increasing in recent yearsjust like the number of sites or entities registered on the blacklist and the proportion of usurpation of authorized professionals.
Scammers have a very large potential target of victims, because savings accounts and loans are everyday financial products, deplores the ACPR. The victims, looking for a safe and profitable investmentare given confidence by their main characteristics: absence of risk of loss of capital and availability of funds.
The ACPR is also warning savers this year about the proliferation of false crowdfunding contracts offering to invest in projects relating to renewable energies, EHPADs, rooms in student residences or even in car parks equipped with electric charging stations . In 2023, 46 fraudulent websites or emails were registered in this category, compared to 20 in 2022.
The ACPR, sometimes supporting the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), regularly warns the general public against the increase in scams surrounding financial products. Its blacklists can be consulted at https://www.abe-infoservice.fr/liste-noire/listes-noires-et-alarmes-des-autorites.
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