2023-07-01 17:01:26
According to a study by the French Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR) and the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), reported by The Parisian, the scammers managed to scam savers of 500 million euros in 2022 by offering them high interest rates and atypical investments. These tempting offers have attracted investors looking for more attractive returns.
Warning: Unrealistic profit promises
Scammers are constantly changing tactics. Investment scams involving diamonds, livestock and forests are becoming less common. Claire Castanet, Director of
Investor Relations and Protection at the AMF, warns that scams related to cryptocurrencies and green parking lots are on the rise. Scammers make false promises of more than 10% annual return to those who invest in parking spaces equipped with charging stations, but this is not true.
The harm to victims is significant. In 2022, the ACPR received reports showing that the average loss for fake deposit accounts was 90,000 euros, compared to 72,000 euros in 2021.
A single scam victim lost 622,000 euros. The loss caused by fake loans is also increasing, with an average loss of 19,000 euros compared to 12,000 euros in 2021. The highest loss on a single file was 193,000 euros.
Victims of cryptocurrency investment scams lost an average of €35,000, up from €21,000 in 2021. The cost is even higher for green parking investment scams, with an average loss of €75,000 .
Scams: beware of scammers posing as financial institutions
Despite preventive measures that might help savers be more vigilant, scammers are constantly refining their techniques. In 2022, 950 cases of person or site impersonation were reported.
Scammers take the name and identification codes of a bank or an investment platform to deceive their victim. Currently, there are 5,000 bogus organizations listed on the Assurance banque épargne info service site, and 1,320 names of unauthorized actors have been added to the five blacklists available on the site.
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