How I was scammed out of 300 euros in Paris

I moved from Vancouver to Paris over two years ago. While I love all that this city has to offer, it has to be said that it is a hot spot for scammers and pickpockets. Though violent crimes remain rare, visitors and residents alike have to be vigilant of petty crimes at all times.

Many victims are ashamed to talk about their experiences, but in sharing them we can remind others to stay alert! Here’s my story of how I was scammed out of 300 euros.

Part I: How it started

I was walking to work when a car pulled up to the curb next to me. A man came out of the driver’s seat and explained to me in an accented English that he needed help. He and his family were on vacation in Paris from England, and their hotel room was burglarized. He claimed they had lost all their cards and cash. And without those things, he couldn’t buy tickets to return to England, so he wanted someone to withdraw some cash for him.

His story was convoluted and I was already running late for work, so I told him I didn’t have time to help. I think he sensed my hesitation, because he proceeded to follow me and insist that it wouldn’t take long to get to the nearest ATM. With his pushiness, I barely had time to process his dubious story in my own head. But when I looked inside his car (which had a UK licence plate, though I didn’t know what to make of this observation), I saw that there really were his wife and baby. Upon seeing that and hearing the desperation in his voice, I chose to believe that they really did need help, even if the chances were small.

Part II: Agreeing to help

Reluctantly, I agreed to go to the nearest ATM with him. I asked him how he would pay me and he assured me that he could send me a transfer immediately. Before I knew it, he had typed my account number into his banking app and was ready to send me money. I was still uncomfortable, so I asked him how I could be sure that he wouldn’t just cancel the transaction after we parted ways, as the transfer isn’t instantaneous. Without skipping a beat, he pulled up an official-looking article on the bank’s help center (inside the official banking app) that said transfers cannot be cancelled once initiated.

Then I asked him how much money he needed and he said 300 euros. Before I even had a chance to agree to the large amount, he had already sent me the amount and showed me proof that the transfer was initiated on his side. At that point I felt like I had no other choice; if I walked away now and he was really telling the truth, then I would become the scammer! So I felt morally obligated to withdraw the cash from the ATM and give it to him. In hindsight, it was probably a formed of social engineering. He gave me his WhatsApp number so that I could reach him later.

He thanked me repeatedly before heading back into his car. Once I had time to process everything that had just happened, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. As I suspected, days later the “uncancellable” transfer never showed up in my account and he was no longer reachable.

Part III: Reflections

I didn’t bother reporting it to the police because I assumed there was nothing they could do. I also felt stupid for believing him and didn’t want to dwell on it any longer. Looking back, I think it’s still a good idea to report such incidents to the police because it can boost public awareness and even impact policy and resource allocation.

The biggest shame in all of this is that in the future, if an honest person who really did need help approached me in this way, it’s unlikely I would give the benefit of the doubt again. That said, I still do believe that most people in the world are good. It’s fine to help strangers, but if it involves money, just make sure you are okay with the possibility of never getting it back.