A scam that is “growing in power”.
Several traders and restaurateurs were recently victims of scammers who offered them false locations for sales stands or food trucks on the sites of the Olympic Games in exchange for several thousand euros in deposits, police warned on Monday judicial.
“We started detecting these scams at the end of 2023 and they are gaining momentum throughout the country,” explains Magali Caillat, the deputy director of the fight against financial crime (SDLCF).
The first reports took place in the Paris region and facts in Marseille and Nantes came to light last week.
The crooks approach food artisans by sending them by mail or email “brochures or brochures” precisely imitating “the advertising or communication materials of the organizing committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games” (Cojop), underlines the commissioner.
To reserve a location, victims are invited to pay a deposit, “between 5,000 and 7,000 euros on average”.
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However, for the rental of stands, the organizer (Cojop) does not approach professionals.
Candidates must respond to calls for tenders published on the “Maximilien” portal, created to facilitate access for VSEs/SMEs to public contracts linked to the 2024 Olympic Games.
Furthermore, “no deposit is planned, invoicing is carried out in the form of a fee based on turnover at the end of operation”, recalls Magali Caillat.
The commissioner also invites you to check the email address: in several cases, the domain names used by the scammers ended with @france-paris2024.org and not with the official @paris2024.org.
Several open investigations
Several investigations have been opened and the first arrests have already taken place, said Magali Caillat, without giving further details.
“Paris 2024 and On Location (official hospitality provider for the Olympic Games, Editor’s note) have filed criminal complaints with the competent authorities,” indicates Cojop on its site.
Around fifteen complaints were filed in the Paris region and at least two suspects, including a Spaniard, were recently arrested, said a source close to the investigation.
“There is a strong chance” that the sponsors are “largely from the same delinquent community”, of Franco-Israeli origin, which practices the “false transfer order” scam, adds the commissioner.
If a scam is suspected, merchants can contact the organizers of the Olympic Games at the email address integrityandenforcement@paris2024.org.
“Several dozen reports have already been sent,” indicates Magali Caillat.