Complaints filed for “fraud” and “identity theft” against a site accused of sharing false rental ads

Several complaints have been filed in France for “identity theft” or “fraud” against a website accused of sharing false holiday rental ads, France Inter revealed on Thursday, August 22. The complaints were filed in particular in the Alpes-Maritimes, Normandy and Tarn.

The accused site is called “rivierabudget.com”. It lists dozens of advertisements for holiday rentals at attractive prices. These advertisements for gîtes or campsites – which already exist – have in fact been copied by the scammers. These are the same advertisements, the same photos and the same text as those offered by professionals in the sector. The tourist offices are inviting them to file a complaint.

Peggy runs a holiday village in Brassac, in the Tarn. She fears for the reputation of her establishment, in particular “that customers come in front [sa] door saying they have booked when[elle] has no reservations.” The manager filed a complaint on Wednesday.

The site is considered credible. Internet users must enter their destination or their dates of stay. An email is then sent to make a transfer to Spain. While some transfers have been blocked, other customers claim to have lost several hundred euros.

However, there are some elements that allow us to spot the scam. Regional investigators are currently working on the case and are in the process of piecing together the inconsistencies. First of all, the site was created recently, on July 3. The legal notices were also stolen, they belong to a hotel based in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), which assures France Inter that it has filed a complaint. Another point: the ads posted are almost all from platforms like Airbnb or Abritel. Finally, the payments go to an account based abroad, in Spain.