A luxury lifestyle, pretending to be bank anti-fraud agents on the phone: ten men suspected of having participated in a “hello
”
scam have been on trial since Thursday, March 23 before the Paris court.
Three of the men are in the box, the other seven seated in the front row of the courtroom.
All are in their twenties.
On the other side, the benches are filled with lawyers representing the civil parties, about 150 are constituted, including several banks and signs.
The total damage was estimated by the banking establishments at 2.6 million euros.
Purchase of client files
"
The question is whether some of these gentlemen are, or not, 'alloters'
", sums up President Guillaume Daieff, before launching into a description of the scam at the heart of the case, one of the many scams that flourish over the fashions on the internet.
Criminals start by buying customer files on the internet - personal data and credit card number, expiry date, 3-digit code.
Using the “
spoofing
” technique, they usurp the bank's customer service telephone number and pose as anti-fraud agents.
They speak well, are well informed: customers see nothing but fire.
“
You still have to know how to talk
“, remarks the president, seeking the eyes of the defendants, who were not very verbose during the investigation.
Thinking they were dealing with an anti-fraud agent, the victims thus validated online purchases or transfers of money to accounts opened solely to receive the funds, then transferred elsewhere or withdrawn in cash from distributors.
“
It is not in this file that (the scam) was invented
”, specifies the president.
The investigation began with a scam targeting the former finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who had validated two purchases in a Madrid Cartier boutique for a total of around 25,000 euros.
The criminals then went to collect the packages.
Read also“They emptied their entire safe”: the terror of a Parisian family defrauded by fake bankers
The investigations revealed a luxury lifestyle, in hotels “
not bad at all
” in the chic districts of western Paris, recalls the president in his report.
It was from these hotels that fraudulent orders for “
luxury
” products were placed.
During the searches, the investigators found Louis Vuitton travel bags - a large part of the group had one, each in its own color - Rolex watches, Céline sneakers, Dior sweatshirts and a lot of state-of-the-art iPhones.
The trial is scheduled two days a week until April 14.
