French justice is cracking down on "scam centers" that prey on their victims even in France.

A private message that arrives at just the right moment, an offer too good to be true, a conversation that seems "normal"... and, in the end, an emptied account. The French justice system has decided to accelerate its investigation into "scam centers," these online fraud factories whose tentacles are now increasingly affecting victims in France, with a well-oiled machine and an almost bureaucratic coldness.

Behind this somewhat clinical term lie structures primarily located in Southeast Asia, between Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos, where teams work in a repetitive, assembly-line fashion. The model is that of hierarchical and specialized organizations, with separate roles: those who lure the target, those who write the scripts, those who maintain the relationship, and those who "follow" the victim until the final, fatal transfer. Similar centers also operate in French-speaking countries in the Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa, and Madagascar.

A well-oiled machine on social media

In concrete terms, scammers cast a wide net: social networks, dating apps, sponsored ads on Facebook, Google, YouTube, or TikTok. The stories vary, but the objective remains the same. Fake investments and promises of quick returns, fabricated business opportunities, threats related to identity theft, "romance scams" where a romance is manufactured like a case file… As the reader can guess, this isn't just a street-corner scam; it's an entire economy.

In Paris, two recent investigations have been opened by the prosecutor's office, within the 2nd and 3rd divisions. One was launched on January 14th concerning offenses described as "attacks on an automated system, kidnapping, unlawful confinement, and organized fraud," in a case linked to these centers. The scope is broad, as is the threat: investigators now speak a language of transnational crime, characterized by intelligence sharing and cooperation with foreign authorities.

Human trafficking at the heart of some investigations

Another, darker angle emerges in several cases: human trafficking. Investigations have documented the use of workers recruited through bogus job postings, then held against their will to carry out scams, sometimes under duress. This sheds light on the difficulties faced by French authorities, caught between tracking down those who commission the scams, locating the infrastructure, and the reality of individuals who, behind a screen, can be both perpetrators and victims.

Faced with this industrialization, authorities are reminding the public of reporting channels like PHAROS and the advice offered by Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, while scams are diversifying around bogus investments and identity theft. The battle now underway is a long-term one, against mobile, adaptable networks that are often beyond immediate reach. It remains to be seen whether the more structured legal response will succeed in curbing this economy of deception that is gradually becoming ingrained in the daily lives of the French.