Each year, individuals lose thousands of euros due to well -established scams. A modified transfer, a false document, a misleading email address … and the money disappears without leaving a trace. No need to be naive or unexpected: these scams are designed to deceive any type of person, even the most cautious. They target those who pay their invoices on time, those who manage a site, those who trust. And when the trap closes, it is often too late. Emilie Daudin, business coverage and content designer known as @Emiliebrunette, paid the price. She just wanted to pay an invoice. In a few clicks, 22,000 euros flew.
With her husband, she had their country house redone, bought a few years ago. An email, an automatic gesture, and money has gone elsewhere. The real craftsman never received anything. A discreet, well thought out maneuver, which can trap anyone. The worst in all of this: she didn’t realize anything for a month. How can such a big deception pass without noise? Everything starts from a simple email. An ordinary message, sent by the prime contractor’s email address, with a big bill to pay. Nothing is wrong: the amounts, the info, everything is consistent. “And a quarter of an hour later, we received a second email with the invoice number that appeared by telling us: ‘Be careful for the transfer, here is my new RIB. And we were fooled”, she tells Explore Media. A false email, a false rib. And the money evaporates, head to the fraudster account.
The project manager, without knowing it, had been hacked. The hacker searched his emails, spotted the work in progress, targeted Émilie. He copied the bill, slipped his own rib, and since it is falling. “We had the point at the site. And there, he (the project manager, editor’s note) said to my husband: ‘I did not receive the transfer’. When my spouse called me and said to me: ‘I have something to tell you, we just lost 22,000 euros’. I said to myself, ‘it is not possible, it is a nightmare'”she recalls. The trap had worked. Like so many others, she saw nothing coming.
The rib or false IBAN scam does not affect only a few isolated cases. Thousands of people have already been victims. And even if “The rate of fraud on transfers remains stable”as indicated by the observatory for the security of means of payment, the damage remains colossal: in 2023, it reached nearly 312 million euros. To protect yourself, some simple reflexes can make the difference. Never validate a change of RIB without having directly called the professional concerned, on the number you usually use. Also take the time to check the sender’s email address. And in doubt, contact your bank immediately.
