Fraud is the act of obtaining goods, services or money by deception. The intention to deceive the victim is an essential element. What remedies are available to counter an attempted scam? Answers.
How do you deal with a professional scam?
Among the most common business scams are the package delivery scam and the president scam.
Parcel delivery scams mainly occur during periods of high e-commerce activity (holiday season, sales, etc.). Scammers send a message by SMS or email that appears to come from a delivery service. The message states that a parcel is to be delivered, but that there is still a fee to be paid to get it to its destination. The victim then fills in their personal details, which are then stolen by the fake delivery company.
The president scam involves impersonating the head of a company to his or her employees. After a few exchanges, the fraudster requests an unscheduled, urgent and confidential international transfer. The money then lands in his personal bank account.
If you think you've been the victim of such a scam, you can contact the relevant services, namely :
- Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFIP),
- Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects (DGDDI),
- Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF).
You can also take your case to the civil or commercial courts to have an unfair contract annulled. Finally, the " Info Escroqueries " platform, staffed by police officers and gendarmes, can provide guidance and advice to victims of fraud.
For more information, don't hesitate to consult the website of the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL), which suggests best practices for avoiding scams.
Fraud: definition, examples and penalties
A scam occurs when a person gives goods, money or a service by deceiving the victim. In such a situation, the victim gives his or her property or money voluntarily, because he or she has been deceived about the perpetrator's intentions.
Scams can take many forms:
- Selling fake concert tickets
- Sending material that does not correspond to the order
- The sale of counterfeit clothing (luxury brand products, for example)
- Submitting false pay slips to obtain unemployment benefits
- Organizing so-called contests or lotteries
- Reporting a stolen phone for compensation.
Fraud is punishable by 5 years' imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros. The maximum penalties can be increased to 7 years' imprisonment and a fine of 750,000 euros for proven cases, i.e. :
- Impersonation of a public official,
- Organizing a fake collection for charity,
- Abuse of weakness.
When committed by an organized gang, fraud is punishable by 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of 1,000,000 euros.