A couple swindled 34 victims on the Leboncoin website
Individuals know that they need to be increasingly wary of the classified ads site Leboncoin. Although some of the ads are genuine, other clever people are having fun scamming internet users by publishing fake ads. A scam involving a couple from Orléans was uncovered on Leboncoin. The man and his partner, aged 22, were both arrested by the police on Tuesday 26 January and taken into custody. The two individuals are suspected of having defrauded numerous internet users by publishing false advertisements on Leboncoin over a period of several months, in order to collect money from the victims. The loot is said to amount to several thousand euros.
They used Leboncoin to swindle their victims
Buying and selling second-hand is becoming increasingly common, and understandably so. As well as making real savings, buying second-hand doesn't have to be synonymous with 'old', 'unusable' or 'poor quality'. And it's often on the classified ads site that individuals go to buy and sell, because you can find everything there, and for very little money. This is how a couple from Orléans got their kicks scamming internet users on Leboncoin by publishing fake ads for electronics and household appliances. Between January and September 2020, the two individuals allegedly made it appear in their ads that they were selling items such as games consoles and food processors. These were highly sought-after items at the time they posted the ads, including the PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Thermomix food processor.
The technique was quite simple. Victims paid for the item they saw in the ad posted by the couple, but never received the item in question because the couple never sent anything. Although the buyers on Leboncoin never received their order, the two scammers still received the money from the bogus sale.
34 victims for a loss of 10,000 euros
The man and woman, both aged 22, allegedly defrauded a total of 34 people on the Leboncoin classified ad site. The 34 victims of the couple's actions are believed to be in the four corners of France, for a total cost of €10,000. Fortunately, the police were able to arrest the couple on Tuesday 26 January 2021 and put an end to their activities.
Once taken into custody at Orléans police station, the two individuals quickly admitted the charges against them. However, they will have to answer for their actions by being sentenced in a court appearance without prior acknowledgement of guilt.
Beware of scams on classified ad sites for individuals
Every day, many fake ads are published on classified ad sites such as Leboncoin. And although these sites do their utmost to prevent the publication of fake ads, many Internet users slip through the net and manage to rip off individuals despite it all. To counter these scammers, it is therefore essential to use a secure payment method to make transactions in complete safety on classified ad sites such as Leboncoin.
To do this, using Obvy as a payment method is undoubtedly the most effective solution. Obvy is the benchmark payment method for transactions between private individuals and with professionals. To use it, all you have to do is create an account on the application and send your offer to buy or sell to the buyer/seller using their telephone number, email address or Obvy ID. All the buyer/seller has to do is accept your offer, and the transaction can proceed with complete peace of mind. Obvy acts as a trusted third party in your transaction. So if someone tries to scam you, all you have to do is report it and turn around. You can then get your money back at no extra cost.