Can you really say that you are not a victim of identity theft? Difficult to answer this question, as the usurpers act discreetly. Clarisse and Damien have been battling their faceless captor for over two years.
In France, each year, 200,000 people are victims of identity theft, mainly on the internet. All professions and all ages are concerned. The most reckless and naive aren’t the only ones fueling these statistics. Unfortunately, you only need to let your guard down once to be the object of such an attack.
Clarisse and Damien are a good example. Defrauded in 2021 as part of an apartment search, this young couple of civil servants is still suffering the consequences of this double identity theft today. Determined to make everyone aware of these risks, they come back to their history and how to protect themselves against them.
Weeks of misunderstanding and strange solicitations
It was in June 2021 that the first doubts emerged. Damien recalls: The taxes contacted me by post to ask me to update information on my company, an IT company registered in Paris. »
However, Damien, residing in Rennes for many years, has never opened the slightest business. This letter does not leave him indifferent and he decides to dig. He types his name on the internet and discovers that there is indeed such a company registered in the 15ᵉ arrondissement of Paris.
” Maybe it’s a namesake? he tries to reassure himself. But the peace was only short-lived. A few days later, Damien receives this call from the gendarmes of Grenoble. In full investigation, they tell him that his name appears in multiple financial cases and that a certain number of credits requested in his name have been refused. ” I didn’t quite understand what was going on. I then decided to go and file a complaint at the police station..”
For Clarisse, the realization came later, but no less brutal. “QA few weeks after these first events, I take stock of my health reimbursements and I realize that certain services have not been covered. So I decide to call my mutual, which tells me that I am now registered with the CPAM of Lille, even though I live and work in Rennes “. Innocently, she thinks it’s probably an administrative error.
As the young woman puts it: That same day, my bank tells me that it cannot grant me my car loan, since I am stuck.” Surprised, she hastens to type her name on Google, just as Damien had done a few days earlier. The result is clear: I did have a company registered in Lille. It had been created the same day as Damien’s.” It is no longer a coincidence.
That day when everything changed
What could have led them to this situation? After a short search, the answer became obvious to the couple. It was in March 2021 that the identity theft took place. Clarisse says: We have submitted a file (for renting an apartment, editor’s note) from a so-called owner. The market was saturated, so we decided to prepare our file as well as possible and, at the owner’s request, we sent salary slips and tax notices. “.
Damien insists the owner seemed honest: “ I spoke to him twice on the phone, which was quite reassuring. He sounded sensible and answered all of our questions. In addition, his announcement was perfectly consistent with market prices. The man asked them to provide the photo of their color ID in order to initiate a request for a rental deposit with his insurance, a process which seemed normal to them.
But following this dispatch, the said owner gave no further news. Again, as Clarisse reminds us, this is quite common in apartment searches. ” We eventually found alternative accommodation, so we didn’t dwell on her silence. “Until this month of June 2021.
” If I hadn’t called the health insurance fund and asked my bank for a car loan, I wouldn’t have known anything. “, she laments, before adding: “ As soon as I understood, I went to lodge a complaint, then I went to the Banque de France. And it was only after very complicated maneuvers that I finally managed to close the company he had opened..” However, the consequences did not stop there.
Identity theft is far from being abolished
Although the couple reacted quickly, to this day the impersonation is still ongoing. The kidnapper has repeatedly tried to take out consumer credit and Clarisse is on file with the Banque de France until August 2026, with the mention that she is the victim of identity theft. Such a procedure allows all financial institutions to examine these facts, and therefore to block any request for credit.
In return, Clarisse pays the full price of this registration: “ Even if I have a document which certifies that I am a victim of identity theft, the banks refuse me any overdraft authorization and I no longer have the right to hold a checkbook, not to mention the credits which are prohibited to me. And if I ask the Banque de France to lift the registration, which is possible, I risk being the victim of identity theft again. »
This state of affairs is hard to accept for the young woman: “ At the time, we do not realize all that this attack represents and what it implies. The more the days pass, the more we become aware of the consequences of this usurpation, as well as all that the usurper could have finally done with our identity. »
For his part, Damien laments: The gendarmes warned us that nothing more could be done and that the return to normal would take time.. »
But then, how to guard against the risk of usurpation?
The couple agrees that it is necessary above all to exercise caution, especially when dealing with individuals. Clarisse specifies that she will no longer send any important and official document without the mention ” duplicate ” Or ” specimen “. She recalls how complicated it is to become aware of the extent of the damage once one has been usurped: “ There is no alert system for victims. Nobody warns us, it is up to us to take all the steps to check if we are concerned. »
Beyond the daily precautionary principle, some solutions such as Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection allow you to protect your identity at a first level, and above all to be alerted as soon as it is used on a website, whatever it is. .
This tool, powerful and easy to use, allows you to see all of your personal data circulating on the web at any time. This complete mapping of the user’s digital footprint helps detect all websites that list their name, email addresses, phone number, address, bank details, or any other sensitive information about them.
Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection also provides all the advice needed to delete stolen data, exchanged without your knowledge to third parties, or even posted on the dark web. In the case of Clarisse and Damien, such a solution would have sounded the alarm when the usurper set up a business. Indeed, everyone can consult the register of companies domiciled in France on the INPI website.
Practical and suitable for all computer systems (PCs, smartphones, tablets), Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection is also currently at a reduced price. The subscription is available at only 2.99 euros per month, or 35.88 euros the first year, instead of 69.99 euros. A contained price, which can bring more serenity to everyday life.