Fraud linked to an Internet purchase - Fraudulent listing

Verified 05 juillet 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Your situation

  • Purchase/Sale of a good or service
  • You're a buyer
  • You're an adult
  • Purchase from a classified ad site
  • You did not receive the property
Edit

A fraudulent advertisement is an offer to sell, posted on the Internet, by a malicious individual who is aware that the good does not exist or is unsaleable.

The fake seller is liable even if he uses a website serving as an intermediary between people (example: Leboncoin, Ebay, Ventilated).

FYI  

The very large online platforms (e.g. Amazon, Apple, Instagram) have an obligation to collect information about professional sellers who post ads on their site. If necessary, they must provide you with this information so that you can hold these sellers accountable.

If you are the victim or witness of a fraudulent sale advertisement, you can report it to THESEE investigators. You also have the option of reporting to the host of the site on which this ad appears.

Reporting on THESEE

You can report a fraudulent ad from the platform THESEE: titleContent. This approach is open to adults and minors.

Report a scam to the classified ad (fake seller) - THESEE

3 conditions are required for the alert to be admissible:

  • You've never met the perpetrator. Relationship must be virtual
  • The order has never been received and you are unable to contact the seller
  • The seller asked you for money. It is not necessary that a payment and/or collection has taken place

Reporting is not a complaint. It consists solely in informing the investigation services of theThe offense and to provide them with information to identify the perpetrator.

If you report a fraudulent listing, you will not be kept informed of the outcome of your report.

Reporting to the site host

The hosts must put in place reporting mechanisms to alert them to the publication of illegal content on a website or a online platform (example: social networks).

This device must be visible and accessible to all.

As a victim or witness of content unlawful, you can report using this device.

As a result of this report, hosts must immediately :

  • Notify competent authorities (e.g. public prosecutor)
  • Remove or block access to illegal content

Hosts that do not provide for such a mechanism or that do not comply with their obligations are subject to criminal sanctions.

Please note

Some hosts have their own reporting mechanisms. This is the case for social networks such as X (formerly Twitter),Facebook,Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok.

If you have responded to a sale ad on the Internet and you have never received the ordered good, you can file a complaint against the author of the ad (natural person or legal person). If you don't know his identity, you can file a complaint against X.

In general, the complaint can be filed online through THESEE: titleContent.

However, if the required conditions are not met, you can file a complaint with a police station, a gendarmerie brigade or the police public prosecutor.

FYI  

The deadline for filing a complaint is 6 years from the date of the last act ofswindle (example: the day of the last money remittance).

Online (on THESEE)

You can file a complaint online from THESEE: titleContent.

File a complaint for a scam ad (fake seller) - THESEE

3 cumulative conditions must be met before you can deposit complaint in this online service:

  • You've never met the perpetrator. Relationship must be virtual
  • You have never received the item and cannot contact the seller
  • The seller asked you for money. It is not necessary that a payment and/or collection has taken place

As soon as your complaint is validated by professionals in this online service, you receive an information notice in your personal space “Service-Public.fr”. This notice gives you information on the follow-up to your complaint, the assistance you can receive (e.g. assistance from a lawyer) and the means to obtain compensation.

You are also informed in case of identification and arrest of the perpetrator.

FYI  

If you are a minor, you cannot file a complaint on THESEE: titleContent.

On the spot

To file a complaint, you must go to a police station or to the gendarme of your choice.

Who shall I contact

Police or gendarmerie services are obliged to register your complaint if you are a victim of an offense.

FYI  

If you do not know the perpetrator, you can first file a pre-complaint online.

Online Pre-Complaint

This pre-complaint must be signed at the police station or gendarmerie you have chosen. During this interview, you can optionally bring new elements. After the signature, the complaint is filed.

At the end of your hearing by the police or gendarmerie, you receive a receipt and a copy of your complaint if you request it.

Filing a complaint leads to a police investigation that can result in the conviction of the person behind the advertisement fraudulent.

If you constitute yourself civil party, you can get damages.

Please note

If you are a minor, you can report the facts at the police station or gendarmerie brigade of your choice.

If you wish to obtain the author's conviction and compensation, it is necessary to take civil action. To do this, you must obligatory be accompanied by your legal representatives (e.g. your parents).

By postal mail

You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.

To do this, you must send an email to the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.

Who shall I contact

Your mail should include the following:

  • Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
  • Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
  • Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
  • Name and address of any witnesses to the offense
  • Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
  • Your proof documents: medical certificates, work stoppages, miscellaneous invoices, findings...
  • Your eventual willingness to become a civil party

You can use the following mail template:

File a complaint with the public prosecutor

You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.

A receipt will be given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.

The filing of a complaint leads to an investigation that can result in the conviction of the author of the advertisement fraudulent.

If you constitute yourself civil party, you can get damages.

Please note

If you are a minor, you can report the facts, in writing, to the public prosecutor.

If you wish to obtain the author's conviction and compensation, it is necessary to take civil action. However, to do so, you must obligatory be accompanied by your legal representatives (e.g. your parents).

The publication of a sale announcement fraudulent constitutes a swindle.

The offender may be sentenced by the correctional court.

The penalties incurred by a natural persons are different from those that a legal person.

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Natural person

The author of a false sale advertisement shall be liable to:

  • 5 years in prison
  • €375,000 fine

It also risks additional penalties such as a prohibition on engaging in the professional activity during which the offense was committed.

Please note

If the author has posted a false advertisement but has not been able to sell you the property on it, he is liable to the same penalties as if the sale had been concluded. This is called attempted fraud.

Legal person

The author of a false sale advertisement shall be liable to a fine equal to €1,875,000.

It also faces additional penalties such as posting the court decision in print or online.

Please note

If the author has posted a false advertisement but has not been able to sell you the property on it, he is liable to the same penalties as if the sale had been concluded. This is called attempted fraud.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • To find out what to do in case of online scams

    Info Scams

    By telephone

     0 805 805 817

    Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6:30 pm.

    Toll-free dial-in number (free from the UK).

  • For information on the various cases of purchase fraud on the Internet

    Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF)

    If you want to report a difficulty encountered with a merchant

    On the Internet

    You can use the site Conso Signal.

    The DGCCRF and the merchant concerned will be informed of your request.

    By telephone

    0809 540 550

    No surtax number

    Hours of operation:

    • Monday and Tuesday: from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and from 1:15 pm to 5:15 pm
    • Wednesday: 13:15 to 17:15
    • Thursday: from 8:30 to 12:30
    • Friday: from 8:30 am to 4 pm

    By mail

    DGCCRF - ResponseConso - BP 60 - 34935 Montpellier Cedex 9

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