Meilleurtaux warns of the resurgence of real estate loan and investment scams. The victims number in the thousands, with a total loss exceeding one billion euros.
Victoria and Romain, a young couple under thirty, had the project of their life: buying a house in Roncq, in the North of France. Helped by Sabine, Victoria’s mother, they carry out loan simulations on the site Meilleurtaux.com. Following this, Sabine is contacted by an individual claiming to be an advisor to Hello bank!, offering her an attractive real estate rate of 2.2% below the market. Reassured by his professionalism after verifying his identity on the Internet, the couple paid 26,000 euros, all their savings, into a pledge account, underlines The voice of the North.
However, months later, when discussing the delay in their file with their notary, they realized that their money never served their real estate project. They were victims of identity theft. Hello bank! files a complaint, but the fraudster remains unidentified.
Asked by Challenges, Guillaume Autier, president of Meilleurtaux, expresses his concern about the frequency of such scams. We unfortunately encounter cases like this every week, he explains Challenges. He also warns against investment scams via false advertisements on social networks, imitating institutions such as Axa or BNP Paribas, offering booklets with unrealistic rates. Victims are tricked into placing their money in fraudulent accounts.
50 complaints filed with the criminal court
Faced with this situation, Guillaume Autier wrote to the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire and Nathalie Aufauvre of the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR), the policeman of banking and insurance, to alert them to this problem and suggest legislative reform. Meilleurtaux, having already filed 50 criminal complaints, estimates that tens of thousands of French people have been cheated, with a total loss exceeding a billion euros.
The fraudsters’ methods are sophisticated, using slightly modified domain names to appear credible, and exerting measured pressure on their victims. Guillaume Autier underlines the importance for consumers to be vigilant when faced with offers that are too far from usual market conditions.
Enjoy the sharp drop in rates to realize your project!
He proposes strengthening control over the activities of foreign banks in France, citing the example of Revolut, and better traceability of telephone numbers used in scams. Finally, he calls for increased surveillance of the financial ecosystem, including social networks, to control false advertising.
A broker will never ask you to pay fees or charges before the borrowed amounts are paid into your account!
On the subject of real estate loan scams, Christelle Molin-Mabille, the general delegate of CNCEF Crdit, a syndicate of brokers, recalled in a press release that a broker will never ask you to pay costs or fees before the sums borrowed are paid into the bank. your account! This practice is formally prohibited by the Monetary and Financial Code which governs our profession.
To limit the risk of such a scam, you can also check the professional’s registration number. It is registered with Orias, the national register of intermediaries in banking, finance and insurance. Without this 8-digit number, it is impossible for a professional to practice the profession of broker. It must therefore appear on all its documents: signed contracts, legal notices but also its website. The absence of this identifier therefore foreshadows an attempted scam. But its presence is not enough to exonerate your interlocutor, emphasizes Capital.
Furthermore, membership in a professional association is obligatory for all brokers or credit agents, recalls Capital. Six organizations have been recognized by the ACPR.
At the beginning of January, the ACPR indicated that it had placed 1,262 sites or entities offering financial products on its blacklist last year without being authorized to do so. The average loss observed regarding false booklets amounts to 93,000 euros, with one file even worth 1 million euros, according to the ACPR. Concerning false credits, the average loss is 13,000 euros, but can be higher in certain cases, up to 60,000 euros.