INVESTIGATION – The crooks are surfing the modes – bitcoin, virtual worlds, Ehpad – and taking advantage of inflation which makes savers take more risks. The authorities are sounding the alarm.
The crooks are firing on all cylinders to get their hands on the woolen stockings of savers. It must be said that the savings cushion accumulated by the French since the pandemic is enough to make the salivate. This surplus of savings has been evaluated at 175 billion euros according to the Banque de France. As a result, the number of fake investment scams – passbooks, accounts, stock market, cryptos, parking spaces or grand crus – is breaking records.
In 2021, complaints and reports relating to the finance and savings sector jumped by 85% according to the crackdown on fraud. “It is an activity that does not weaken. It exploded at the time of confinement and has since continued to increase steadily,” confirms Grégoire Vuarlot, director of the control of the commercial practices of the ACPR, the policeman of the bank and the insurance. Each year, the losses linked to savings scams amount to nearly 500 million according to an estimate by the financial prosecutor’s office, and to 4.5 billion euros…
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