A Disturbing Scam in Marrakech
On December 2, 2025, my wife and I arrived in Marrakech, a destination favored by many French retirees seeking warmth, vibrant souks, and a leisurely lifestyle. However, what was meant to be a delightful getaway turned into a horror story as we lost €7,600 from our bank account, victims of a well-orchestrated fraud scheme. This scam entails a complex web involving fraudsters, banking institutions, and regulatory bodies, all complicit in allowing this crime to persist.
The Mechanics of Deception
Our ordeal began with a seemingly innocuous promise to recover funds supposedly linked to an earlier dispute. Under the guise of verifying our financial standing, an accomplice seized my wife’s phone, orchestrating a transfer of €7,600 to a Moroccan account at Attijariwafa Bank without our informed consent. We never knowingly authorized this transaction; our understanding of the act was deliberately manipulated, reflecting a systematic method of operation that is far from amateurish.
According to the CDVAM (Collective Defense of Scam Victims in Marrakech), this scam has ensnared approximately 200 French victims since 2019, resulting in a cumulative loss estimated at €20 million. I cannot personally verify these figures, yet the ongoing reports of similar incidents in 2026 lend them credibility. For example, a report by Charente Libre from May 6, 2026, detailed a case involving two retirees who lost €25,000, echoing our experience.
Upon realizing the fraud, my wife promptly visited the Société Générale branch to report the incident, where the transfer could have been halted. Regrettably, the bank took no action and subsequently denied our requests for reimbursement, arguing that the operation had been 'authenticated' via their application. This reasoning is absurd, as it equates technical validation gained through deception with informed consent.
Efforts to dispute the bank’s refusal led us to file a criminal complaint, a move that paradoxically shut the door to banking mediation, as the law precludes mediation while judicial proceedings are underway for the same facts. This nonsensical system means that the only amicable route to defend oneself becomes the very action that denies access to other amicable solutions.
Even my attorney, appointed through my legal protection service, indicated that pursuing civil action against the bank might be weakened by recent case law from the Cour de cassation, yet failed to provide specific references despite my repeated requests. If the law struggles to deliver a clear resolution, what chance does an 81-year-old retiree have when faced with such legal labyrinths?
The most troubling aspect of this situation is perhaps the role of regulatory authorities. The phone numbers used by the fraudsters are legally assigned by ARCEP, the French telecommunications regulatory authority, to an Israeli company, KAV EL INTERNATIONAL, which has seen these numbers reassigned five times between 2018 and November 2025. The last reassignment occurred just months prior to my report, despite documented warnings sent to ARCEP about the fraudulent activities.
My attempts to communicate this issue to ARCEP in April 2026 received only superficial responses, followed by complete silence despite formal reminders in June. It wasn't until late July, likely spurred by the interest of a major national newspaper, that I finally received a call from an ARCEP official.
A similar lack of response was noted from the ACPR, the banking regulatory authority, which ignored my four documented registered letters over a span of five and a half months. This led me to contact the Defender of Rights regarding the inaction of these two independent administrative authorities.
My message is simple: I am not a tech expert, lawyer, or activist. I am an 81-year-old retiree who has chosen to meticulously document every interaction, silence, and refusal over the past eight months. I refuse to accept that surrender is the only option when faced with such a locked-down system. Unfortunately, many other victims have succumbed to despair, believing there is 'nothing to be done' against a bank.
This situation is not a foregone conclusion; it is a chain of failures. An identified fraudster remains unpunished, a bank disregards deception under the guise of technicalities, a regulator fails to control the situation, and mediation collapses under its own weight. Each link in this chain can individually justify its actions, but collectively, they create a system that prioritizes its own procedures over the protection of those it is meant to serve.
It is this system that I continue to document and expose.
As reported by blogs.mediapart.fr.
