Three crooks arrested for scamming €1 million on Leboncoin
On Thursday 10 December, three individuals were arrested at Nantes railway station and in La Roche-sur-Yon for a loss of more than €1 million. To achieve their ends, the individuals impersonated around a hundred people on the Leboncoin website. The Nantes financial affairs unit put an end to their actions by placing them under judicial supervision. The case involved the discovery of documents relating to accounts opened online, illegally obtained bank cards and money transfer slips.
A loss of 1.38 million euros
Three people have been placed under judicial supervision after being arrested for stealing the identities of 138 people via the online ad site Leboncoin. According to the police, a total of 150 bank accounts were opened online, using documents they fraudulently obtained from individuals on Leboncoin. It's a big deal, since the damage caused by these scams amounts to €1.38 million, according to the Nantes Sûreté départementale, which put an end to the activities of these crooks.
To take action, the individuals put all types of property up for sale on the Leboncoin advertising website, particularly housing. The victims of the scam, who were looking for accommodation or any other type of property offered in the ads, were then seduced by the attractive ads published by the swindlers. Unaware of the deception, they would send their bank details and copies of their identity papers. The scammers then took advantage of the opportunity to recover both the money from the transaction and the identity documents sent by the individuals via Leboncoin.
A total of 138 identities stolen on Leboncoin
These documents enabled the fraudsters to open bank accounts fraudulently and disappear without a trace, without giving any news to the buyers. As we said earlier, they were able to open 150 bank accounts using the victims' documents. This put the buyers in a tricky situation, as they had no way of tracing the pseudo-sellers or their stolen money. What's more, a total of 138 identities were stolen in the process.
However, an initial complaint was lodged a year ago in December 2019, after a woman suffered a loss of almost €3,000 by sending her RIB and ID. This was after she had applied for a job that she had found in an advert on Leboncoin. An investigation was launched and handed over to the Nantes financial affairs brigade, as the crooks had sent her a cheque that she was unfortunately unable to cash because it had been stopped.
Beware of scammers on the Leboncoin ad site
Unfortunately, this type of scam is very common on online sites such as Leboncoin. To avoid falling into the scammers' traps, it is essential to secure your transactions so that you can be 100% sure of getting your money back in the event of a scam attempt. Don't worry, it's possible. All you have to do is suggest to the seller that they use a secure payment method like Obvy to guarantee trust between the two parties. If the seller refuses for no obvious reason, then they are most likely a fraudster. However, if the seller accepts, then you can rest assured that even if there is a scam attempt when you receive the parcel or make the transaction, you will be able to cancel the transaction and get your money back in full at no cost to you. This is thanks to Obvy's secure payment method between private individuals, which keeps your money safe in a digital safe until you have received your parcel and confirmed that everything is in order!