Fraud Warning - Beware of fraudsters offering fraudulent bank loans!

The number of fraudsters offering fake bank loans and/or credits online, on social media networks such as Facebook or by email has increased considerably. These so-called loans and/or offers of credit are often made at very attractive rates by fraudsters posing as private individuals or those claiming to operate on behalf of large French banks.

It appears that some fraudsters are now creating fake internet sites which use the Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (Crédit Agricole CIB) trademark or those of other entities within the Crédit Agricole Group.

Additionally, these fraudsters are often using the identity of employees of the banks in order to give more credibility to their messages. Some loans or offers of credit therefore appear to be made by so-called employees or managers of the Crédit Agricole Group.

In the context of this fraud, any targeted person is “eligible” for these loans and/or offers of credit without any checks or controls. Depending on the situation, the targeted person may be invited to contact the fraudster by email or by phone. The goal of the fraudster is to be paid a fee for the so-called set up of the application.

These fees (application fees, notary costs, legal fees, release fees, court fees, etc...) are payable upfront prior to the release of the funds. The fee usually has to be deposited into a money transfer company. Once the payment is made, the funds are never released and the fees which have been advanced are lost. 

The fraudster may also attempt to trick you into providing your personal information or documents containing personal data under the guise of creating the so-called loan and/or credit application. Be warned, fraudsters may reuse this information for future illegal activities. 

Crédit Agricole CIB is a corporate and investment bank and does not offer any loans or credit to individuals. 

As a result, be very alert to these fake offers of loans and/or offers of credit distributed on social networks and via e-mail which claim to be coming from Crédit Agricole CIB.