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HomeLatest NewsEgyptian scammers made millions off fake travel cards in France

Egyptian scammers made millions off fake travel cards in France

Date: March 29, 2024 Time: 02:52:53

Due to ticket fraud, Paris public transport lost about 40 million euros.

Photo: Shutterstock

A major financial scam has been uncovered in Paris. The police detained 4 Egyptians who were selling fake Navigo public transport passes (an analogue of the Moscow Troika). Traveling with such a ticket was four times more profitable: only 18.80 euros per month instead of 75.20. Attractive? Parisians too. According to Le Parisien, scammers have sold more than 45,000 cards since 2019.

The police suggest that the scale of the scam could be even greater: during the searches, they found a fake in 2011. Due to the fraud, the RATP (Paris Public Transport) lost about 40 million euros.

The Organized Crime Department began to investigate when they came across strange advertisements in French and Arabic on social networks: it was enough to make a phone call and pay a fee to obtain a “magic” travel card that reduces costs by 4 times. In January, the authors of the advertisements were arrested. It turned out to be four Egyptians who had been living in France for about 10 years and working on a construction site.

The scheme they came up with is quite simple. There are travel cards of 18 euros, it is a reduced rate for the poor, disabled, unemployed and other groups, with adequate insurance. To receive such a discount, you must provide documents confirming the right to the benefit. They were forged by scammers. During the search, 65,000 false certificates were found on the computers of the defendants. Such a simple fraud made them spend from 1.5 to 2.2 million euros a year. The scammers laundered illegal proceeds and brought them to Egypt.

On Monday, the court decided to keep the defendants in custody so they could not escape. Given the amount of damage, now they will have to “leave” behind bars for a long time. And Parisians, it seems, will look for other ways to save money: in January, traveling to Paris has risen in price by almost 10 euros.

* This website provides news content gathered from various internet sources. It is crucial to understand that we are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented Read More

Puck Henry
Puck Henry
Puck Henry is an editor for ePrimefeed covering all types of news.
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