“It sucks to be had”.
Three months later, Bruno still has it in the throat.
Attracted by an attractively priced ad on Le Bon Coin - “50 euros per cubic meter of wood!
-, the Vayrais ordered 10 cubic meters of logs this summer, in anticipation of the winter.
But when the truck arrived to unload, he said more than half of the order was missing.
"He said to me: 'don't worry, I'll come back with what's missing'", says Bruno before continuing: "I told him: 'I won't give you 500 euros if I don't have the amount of wood'.
A large man then got out of the truck.
Intimidated and not very reassured, Bruno ended up giving in and paying the sum requested.
Of the rest of the load, he did not see the slightest bark.
Like Bruno, many consumers are fooled by online ads or fake websites.
With winter approaching and in a context of wood shortages and rising energy prices, wood on the coast and scammers take advantage.
If this kind of scam is constantly increasing in recent years, they have literally exploded in recent months.
“We have a tenfold increase in reports, confirms Jean-Baptiste Boisseau, co-founder of the Signal Arnaques platform, the scammers have realized that this is a good vein, they have a process that is well in place.
Well-honed, scammers put online fraudulent websites that are sometimes difficult to spot.
“They're pretty clever, they make sites on behalf of companies that exist but don't have a website themselves.
Read also“It stinks, it’s not possible”: he believes he is buying classified wood, he inherits a landfill of dangerous products
Usually vigilant, Cédric fell into the trap at the end of September.
After ordering on a seemingly reliable website, the Bordelais realized the next day that he was no longer online and that the managers were unreachable.
Result, 158 euros lost.
"Generally, payment on order (
and not on delivery, editor's note
) by bank transfer is to be avoided", warns Jean-Baptiste Boisseau.
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