Par
Laurent Fortin
Published on
It’s a story that could happen to many people. A scam mixing inattention et manipulation. Ce Saturday 29 November, Alexis Chenouard receives an email froma large delivery company asking him to choose another delivery location for the package he ordered. And that he looks forward to. The logo and wording make him think it’s real.
SO, the resident of Vertou complies when asked to pay 1.83 euro for this service.
I lacked vigilance. I did this in a hurry. I was waiting for this package. As the amount was not significant…
He wishes that his testimony may be useful to others. A technique phishing (or fishing) aimed at retrieve an individual’s bank details, very widespread. So much so that he received the same request two days later.
That’s when it hit me. I looked more specifically at the email address. I saw it was shit.
A fake email and a fake contact
Sensing a scam, he urgently sends a message to his bank advisor to find out the procedure to follow. She responds to him by email on Tuesday, encouraging him to object.. The pediatric doctor, practicing in the delicate intensive care unitresumed his 24-hour shift at the Nantes University Hospital.
If he quickly sees the email, he postpones this task until later, having other emergencies to deal with. He will not have time to carry it out because, in the evening, he receives a phone call. At the end of the line, someone says of his bank’s anti-fraud fight.
It’s around 10:30 p.m. I’ve been at the hospital since 8 a.m. And there, I believe that it is my savior who comes to rid me of my inadvertence. Naively, I trust him since he knows my file. At least he makes me believe so. He tells me that it is urgent to act – that’s why he called me – because someone in Alicante is withdrawing sums of money with an iPhone. He tells me not to panic, that he is used to handling these cases. I then follow his instructions, such as changing my password and validating the operations which, I believe, is the recovery of my money.
He is still angry at this deception (called vishing in the jargon of digital scams because it involves obtaining confidential information by trickery). This is not the case at all, the amounts he validates are in fact money that is taken from him.
This whole thing lasts over an hour. My colleagues even ask me what I’m doing. The exchange ends with an SMS that I receive on the message thread usually sent by my bank.
What had reassured him did not last long.
A complaint filed with forceps
Indeed, over the course of the night and discussions with colleagues suspicious of the method, doubts arise. And the anxiety rises. Even if the transactions are not yet displayed on his online account, he quickly did the calculation: the The sum exceeds 8,000 euros. He will try to reach his interlocutor. Who will answer him, but without convincing him.
Following his sleepless night, he heads straight to the bank. With his advisor, they notice the fraud. The money was sent to specialized accounts in cryptocurrency and online casinos. Last solution: dispute the payment. And hope that the insurance compensates him.
For this, even if it was not easy and we had to insist, I was able to file a complaint with the gendarmerie brigade because they are in demand for this type of case. ultimately for nothing. because my insurance, which is affiliated with my bank, told me that if I was a victim, I was also guilty, because I validated the payments.
The bank’s accusation: a double punishment
A shame for him. “And a real injustice,” feels the one who then turns against his bank. Who hardly appreciates it. She suggests that he contact the complaints service. This body, however, does not remain insensitive to his situation and offers him a commercial gesture. “3,000 euros,” he says. Not enough for him and his wife who feel “victims first, before being responsible”.
Their refusal pleases their bank even less. While she sincerely deplores the malicious act of which they were victims, she notes that:
The damage suffered does not result from a failure of the bank’s security system, but from fraudulent maneuvers to which you unfortunately contributed. By following the instructions of a malicious third party, you allowed these operations to be carried out despite the clarity of the notifications you received on their subject. Consequently, you are responsible for the use of your digital key and the preservation of your personalized security data.
Double punishment for the family who must unlock we are on an A booklet so as not to remain overdrawn.
This case haunts me daily when my mind should be free. I experienced trauma. That of having been totally manipulated. And be told that I am responsible for it.
Pour Alexis Chenouard, the bank has two responsibilities : that of not having called him to object and that of not protecting yourself enough against this type of scam.
I was sent a simple email in the same way as a promotional offer that she would have made to me. In my job, if something serious happens, I call people to find out the full extent of it, I don’t send an email. On the other hand, the bank tells me that the phenomenon is frequent: why not better inform its customers instead of accusing them.
He will contact the mediator of the French Banking Federation. He also approached the UFC Que Choisir association in Nantes, which protects consumers, which told him that it had already defended similar victimset having won in court. He also noted that in a recent judgment of December 18, 2025the Paris Court of Appeal provides:
A nuanced and protective response for the consumer, recalling that the validation of an operation by strong authentication, required by European regulations, is not sufficient, in itself, to establish serious negligence on the part of the customer.
It remains to be seen whether this will convince the bank before possible legal action.
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