Hackers attack email account

The case begins in 2019. At that time, the email account of Christian Derrey from Étainhus near Le Havre was hacked.

There are old work emails in his inbox, including one Copy of his ID cardwhich he had sent as an attachment at the time. Fraudsters later used this document for identity theft. Fraudsters later use this exact document for identity theft.

Derrey’s name appears again and again in official files – for example as a vehicle owner or as an alleged tax debtor.

Sham company registers thousands of cars

According to the radio station France Bleu, the largest fraud case to date will take place in November 2024. Under Derrey’s name, unknown people will set up a company called “CJM-Automobile”. Around 3,000 vehicles are registered through this company within a few days.

Anyone who is caught speeding in one of these cars or parks incorrectly leaves a trail behind – and it leads directly to the pensioner.

Up to 40 traffic tickets a day – authorities freeze accounts and pensions

The consequences are dramatic for the man. He receives between 25 and 40 fine notices every day. Over time, the total amount of claims continues to grow.

Derrey is now talking about around 180,000 euros in debt. According to him, around 3,000 euros were also frozen from his account. Also part of his pension had been blocked.

“Nobody wants to deal with it,” Derrey tells France Bleu. It is particularly stressful that he has to explain to every authority again that he has nothing to do with the traffic violations and has to repeatedly protest his innocence.

Identity theft: “There are thousands of us”

The pensioner has filed a complaint and is continuing to fight the claims. “We absolutely need to establish a unit that is exclusively dedicated to this issue,” he demands. In his opinion, there are many people affected: “There are thousands of us in France.”

But this form of fraud also occurs again and again in Germany, reports HNA. According to a YouGov survey, around one in ten internet users in this country has already been affected.