For several months, scammers have been using fake couriers who, under the pretext of stopping a fraud on your bank accounts, or delivering a new bank card, come and collect your card and PIN directly from your home. With these two elements in hand, your bank account is emptied in no time. In such a situation, is the bank supposed to reimburse the victim, who honestly believed that the fake courier was indeed sent by their bank, and who was convinced by an often very well-crafted scenario?
This type of scam often takes place in three stages. First, there is the phishing phase, which begins with those famous text messages that invite you to click on a link to collect a package, receive your health insurance card, renew your Crit'Air, or pay a fine. The scammers then collect your phone numbers, your personal data (name, address, date of birth) and sometimes your banking data (name of your advisor, card number, login details, etc.). This information will allow them to better manipulate you, making you believe that they are the real bank advisors.
In the texts, the victim of banking scams is quite well protected
Then comes the second phase: the call, in which they will try to get you to validate transactions via double authentication – combining two identification elements, such as your smartphone and a password or code – under the pretext of stopping (false) direct debits. Here, the scam can go as far as a third phase: you are warned that a courier will arrive to recover your compromised card, or to deliver a new one more quickly – which is obviously false.
In an emergency, the victim, who believes they are dealing with their bank, will entrust their card to the courier, who will take advantage of the emergency to request and often obtain the associated PIN code. Faced with a very convincing scenario, the victim will comply, convinced that they are dealing with a professional sent by their bank. Once all this information is in hand, the scammers can simply make purchases or transfers in all directions. As a reminder, no bank needs your bank card and your personal PIN to block fraudulent withdrawals. It also doesn't require you to log in or perform a specific transaction to stop a fraud attempt; it can do so directly. But once the damage is done, what can the victim do if they were convinced and did provide their bank card? In France, consumers who are victims of bank scams are, according to the law, fairly protected. The law requires banks to reimburse their customers, from their own funds, for any sums unduly withdrawn from their bank accounts. It doesn't matter if the scammer and the stolen sums are never found. But there are two exceptions: if the customer is an accomplice in the fraud, or if they were "grossly negligent." It is up to the banking institution to provide proof of these two elements which allow it to dodge the issue.
But its right to be reimbursed (by the bank) is not absolute
Last October, the Court of Cassation recalled that the victim of a fake advisor – whose call displayed the bank's number – must be reimbursed by their banking institution. But is it the same when the person gives their bank card to a fake courier, under the pretext of stopping fraudulent withdrawals or renewing their card more quickly? Does this constitute "gross negligence" that allows the bank to escape its obligation to reimburse? Various courts have recently ruled on this question. "Gross negligence on the part of the customer can be a cause exonerating the bank's liability," Alexandre Archambault, a lawyer specializing in digital technology, reminded us by email.
In a judgment of February 18, 2025, the Paris Judicial Court ruled, regarding a couple who were victims of a fake bank advisor scam, that handing over their bank cards and associated PINs on a Friday evening between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. was indeed grossly negligent. The result: no obligation for the bank to reimburse them. The couple lost nearly 13,712 euros.
No bank "sends a courier to collect payment cards" in a fraud context
In another judgment dated April 11, 2025, where a victim also gave a fake courier her personal bank card and that of her business account, with the codes, the bank claims "a lack of discernment on the part of Mr. [J] who did not notice the inconsistencies of the fraudster, to whom he entrusted his bank cards via a courier, while the bank does not go to its customers' homes to collect counterfeit cards and produce bank cards more quickly."
The court The Paris Judicial Court ruled in this regard: "No payment service provider sends a courier to collect payment cards in the context of a chargeback for alleged or proven fraud." However, a bank customer is supposed to "take all reasonable measures to preserve the security of their personalized security data. Failure to comply with this obligation precludes the right to reimbursement of unauthorized payments due to fraudulent use of the instrument." Here, giving a card and PIN to a fake courier cancels their right to reimbursement from their bank. As a result, the victim will not be compensated for their lost €17,806... These various rulings therefore seem to indicate that victims of fake couriers, who have left their bank card and PIN, will not be reimbursed by their bank. Keep in mind that they should never give their bank card to anyone, even when renewing it. Your bank will ask you to destroy your old card, but not to get it back. Note that your bank never requires a PIN or password. If you've been a victim, cancel your bank card, call your bank, change your passwords, and file a complaint.
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