Reports of fake credit and fake brokers up 50% this summer compared to last summer

Warning about fake loan or credit redemption offers. The Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR), backed by the Banque de France, has observed a resurgence in scams in recent times. Scammers are usurping the identity of brokers and credit institutions. The increase is significant: 50% more reports of fake credit and fake broker scams sent by individuals this summer.

Here is their modus operandi: they use social networks to spread false advertisements and ask their victims for their contact details. The victims are then contacted by telephone by people presenting themselves as belonging to the staff of brokers authorized to operate in France. The scammers’ scheme is well-established: they use documents bearing the logo of a banking institution authorized to grant credit in France. The deception is therefore difficult to detect. After signing the false offer, the scammers ask the victims to pay a personal contribution by transfer to accounts opened with the institutions whose identity has been stolen. The same principle applies to loan buybacks: the victims are approached by telephone or email, particularly after energy renovation work, then they are invited to make a transfer to settle the first loan.

Blacklists

Before responding to an offer, the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority recommends checking that the person you are speaking to is actually employed by the company to which they claim to belong by dialing the number of the company’s head office that you found yourself. You can also consult the blacklists of fraudulent sites established by the ACPR. Among the email addresses identified as scams, we note bureau-axa.com, [email protected], [email protected]pre[email protected]pre[email protected]or even [email protected]. Since the beginning of the year, the Authority has registered nearly 989 sites or entities on this blacklist (of which 61% correspond to usurpations of authorized professionals). Among these registrations, nearly 331 concern credit scams, credit buybacks. The ACPR also communicates the names of fake credit comparison sites intended to collect personal data such as comparateur-taux-credit.com or eligibilite-credit.com.