21,000 euros: it is the astronomical amount of SNCF fines that a young girl received following an identity theft. And she is not the only one in this nightmarish situation that can happen to everyone.
Like hacking and phishing scams, cyber attacks that strike large companies and institutions often lead to theft of personal data. Last name, first name, postal address, date and place of birth, telephone number … so many precious and sensitive information which, especially when it is combined with others, can lead to identity theft. And the crooks take advantage of it, and not necessarily to draw from your bank account. Because some can use it in the event of control, by pretending to be you!
And without this kind of situation, it is you who collect fines in their place. With amounts that can quickly become staggering. It is the unpleasant surprise that Méline, a resident of Verneuil-sur-Vienne (Haute-Vienne) of barely 18 years old, who finds herself in debt of more than € 21,000 with the SNCF, following increased fines that she would not have paid for two years. However, the girl has never climbed in the corresponding trains.
And it is far from being the only one! In the wake of the article Le Populaire du Center, the newspaper which relayed the misadventures of Méline, another victim appeared. No less than € 6,000 would have already been seized on his accounts to, there too, unpaid SNCF fines, despite the certificates sent to prove that she had not made these trips. Other media also reported similar cases last year. In short, it is far from being an isolated practice!
What to do if you too receive a fine for a journey that you have not made? First, you must absolutely file a complaint at the police station in order to prove your good faith and, incidentally, try to find the crook. From there, you can make a complaint with the SNCF.
To do this, you must go to the official website, www.contact-contravention.sncf.com, and choose the motif “It is not me who took the train”, after which you will have to reach a copy of a Identity document, your filing of complaints for identity theft, proof attesting to your presence elsewhere than in the train at the time of the facts or a declaration of loss or theft of your identity document.
You have a period of three months to contest the fine with the SNCF, after which the file will pass from the SNCF to those of the Public Treasury, where you will have to make a complaint with the public prosecutor’s officer From your home, which will have to determine whether it is an identity theft. In short, we advise you not to delay too much.