Convictions are starting to fall in cases of fake technical support scams. Failing to have been able to get their hands on the head of a network, the magistrates of the 13th correctional chamber of Paris have just condemned one of the key players in this type of scam.
This Thursday, February 8, they found Marc S. guilty of complicity in fraud and money laundering in an organized gang, sentencing him to a three-year prison sentence, two of which were suspended.
This senior, who will also have to pay a fine of 10,000 euros, half of which is suspended, had become the relay of a dubious company, Xanetis, in reality one of the fronts with “Media config” and “Ordi config” of a very profitable call center based in Tunisia.
“She’s the one who’s hacking you!”
“It was at the end of the day, in March 2019. The screen of my computer had gone black, with an audible alarm, only displaying a telephone number,” one of the participants told the audience. victims of this type of scam. On the phone, a person first claimed to be from Microsoft, before finally explaining that they worked for Xanetis. “She took my hand and told me that a hacker could do this or that,” the victim recalls. An employee then arrived and told me: no, she’s the one who’s hacking you!”
Other victims present at the hearing also remembered bogus interventions, such as a so-called installation of the Kaspersky antivirus, or even billing for the installation of an Adblock extension in a “cyber pack” at 699 euros, a very dubious service. A classic of the fake technical support scam, where if it involves making the victim wrongly believe that their computer is infected with a virus or suffers from computer problems that can be easily resolved if they go to the box.
This is precisely where Marc S comes in. If victims paid by bank card, others paid for the false intervention by a direct debit ending in one of his accounts. As the latter is based in France, this greatly simplifies the payment operation. In eight months, he will collect around 1.5 million euros, against a commission of 5% according to his statements, rather between 15 and 20% according to the survey.
High rate of cancellations
“I only provided a collection system, I had absolutely no idea that there were scams,” he defended himself at the hearing.
However, as the judges point out, there had been several alerts, such as this summons to a departmental population protection directorate, or the high proportion of canceled payments, around 550,000 euros, or a third of the deductions.
“That doesn’t ring a bell?”, wondered the president of the court, Guillaume Daieff. “I found it normal, it’s a method of selling by telephone,” Marc S then downplayed. “It was a nominee service,” he added, without convincing the magistrates. “Who are the people willing to pay 200,000 euros for a nominee in France?” the judges then retorted. The question is quickly answered, as the other would say.