An elderly couple in France have fallen victim to a sophisticated fraud scheme, losing around 1.1 million euros worth of assets after the scammers convinced them that their valuables were at risk. The incident took place in Lainville-en-Vexin, a village of around 800 inhabitants in the Yvelines department. According to French media, it all started on July 31, when the couple received a call from a person who introduced himself as an employee of a security company.
The fraudster told the pensioners that their personal data had been compromised and advised them not to leave the apartment. To make the story more believable, he also asked them to prepare a preliminary complaint.
Two days later, the perpetrators moved on to the next phase of the plan. Another person involved in the scheme took the man from the apartment under the pretense that a security procedure needed to be performed.
Meanwhile, the woman remained at home and received another call from a person who again presented himself as a representative of the security company. When he learned that the family had a safe, he asked her about its contents and convinced her that the money and valuables needed to be temporarily moved to a protected location.
Convinced by the prepared scenario, the pensioner placed cash, pounds of gold, gold bars and jewelry in a bag. Then, she handed it over to a person who appeared at the door of the house as an authorized courier. The total value of the property taken by the fraudsters is estimated at around 1.1 million euros. When the couple realized that they had fallen into the trap of fraud, they immediately notified the authorities and filed a report.
French investigators are looking into the possibility that the perpetrators obtained the victims' data through personal information leaks. The suspicions are also linked to several recently reported cyberattacks on companies involved in the buying and selling of gold in France.
So far, the perpetrators of the scheme remain unidentified and at large, while police are investigating whether the group may be involved in other cases of fraud against people who own valuables.
