A very well “organized” gang, but an initial prejudice “inflated with helium” and largely revised downwards: nine men were sentenced on Friday in Paris for a scam consisting in pretending to be anti-terrorism agents on the phone. bank fraud. The sentences ordered by the criminal court range from two years in prison suspended to five years, four of which are firm. “Obviously the defendants did not invent the idea of pretending to be someone they trusted”, but the “hello” scam was “fairly new” at the time of the events, in 2021, begins by highlighting the President, Guillaume Daieff.
The scam at the heart of the case consists of the criminals posing as bank anti-fraud agents, after having purchased personal data and bank card numbers from customers on the Internet. They usurp the bank’s customer service telephone number using the technique of “spoofing” (electronic identity theft) and, thanks to their insurance and good information, achieve their goal. Customers thus validate online purchases or transfers of money to accounts opened solely to receive the funds, then transferred elsewhere or withdrawn in cash from ATMs.
Bugging rooms
The court found that the nine defendants – a tenth person was fully acquitted – had indeed acted “in an organized gang”, and that the “distribution of tasks” was clear, whether for the “associates” or the “subordinates”. . “There is the one who buys the bank data, the one who calls the targets, the one who buys and provides the work phones” (we found 25 of them), lists the president.
“The one who offers the goods to be purchased”, “the one who provides the bank accounts” which will be used to “disburse” the stolen funds… those who “rent” the beautiful cars to get around, and the luxury hotel rooms which will serve as a basis “to work”, he continues. These rooms had been bugged before the arrests. At the hearing, we had heard how the victims were trapped by the honeyed voice and the professional tone of the “allôteurs” – who did not lead off during the broadcast of these extracts.
DSK as a starting point
The investigations had revealed a luxurious lifestyle and during the search, the investigators had found Louis Vuitton travel bags, Rolex watches, Céline sneakers, Dior sweatshirts, and a lot of the latest iPhones. Some 700 victims had been identified, including the former Minister of Finance, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who had validated in spite of himself nearly 25,000 euros in purchases in a Cartier boutique. It was through him that the business had started.
At the end of the investigation, the total damage had been assessed at 2.6 million euros. A figure “inflated with helium”, had denounced the defense lawyers during the hearing. In total, the court will retain only 37 victims, whom the defendants will have to reimburse, and will estimate their total damage at 190,000 euros.