after the scam to personal training account, a new scam is on the rise on the Internet. Over the past few months, ads promising to blow up their PVs have flourished. on social networks, especially on Snapchat. Anonymous accounts, with a confidence-inspiring presentation, boast that they can blow up notices on your posts without interception, that is. the vice presidents in which only the license plate (and not the identity of the driver) is mentioned.
The procedure is simple: just send the notice of violation and the online “provider” takes care of everything. You will no longer have to pay fines and, above all, you will not lose points. In return, the fined motorist agrees to pay half the price of the the fine to the service provider, i.e. generally €45. “Obviously, the offer is tempting for certain drivers who are ticketed for minor speeding violations. Online speech is well honed. I had the opportunity to see this type of ad and, honestly, it is very well done. You have a nice flyer with nice cars, there is a real com ‘… ”, he explains to 20 minutes I Etienne Lejeune, Lawyer specializing in traffic lawwho defends several drivers who have been tempted by this scheme, which is actually a real scam.
“The same identity used more than 14,000 times”
Several months later, some drivers, who thought they had dodged the tickets, received an amusing citation. “Some people, clients whom I defend today, received summonses before the police court, in which they were charged identity theftwith threats of persecution for slanderous denunciation and provision of false information”, explains the lawyer specializing in traffic law.
“In one of the letters it was even stated that the identity communicated to the administration to challenge the VP had been used more than 14,000 times! Because the trap was actually that the “provider” designated as the author of the infringements, instead, a titular person a driver’s license abroad, which cannot be verbalized on French territory. Except that the follow-up of PV disputes without interception is centralized at the National Processing Center in Rennes. Who obviously started to cringe when he received several hundred designations on behalf of the same individual! “, specifies Me Etienne Lejeune.
Up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros
As a result, many drivers are relieved of the money paid to the “provider” on snapchat, with the bonus of a citation for much more serious events. “I am currently defending a trucker from Béthune (Pas-de-Calais) who is also at risk of losing his job,” adds the Le Havre-based lawyer, who has already taken care of a dozen clients who are victims of this scam. . Other lawyers, throughout France, have also already warned of the resurgence of this type of scam on social networks.
Four people were thus summoned to trial in 2022 Nimes (Gard) for complicity in forgery and use of forgery, as well as for speeding, subject of the initial notice of violation. They face a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.