The year 2025 begins with an increase in reports of abusive withdrawals. Many people report unknown debits from their account, each time with the same strange wording.
The direct debit scam, if not new, seems to have exploded for some time. Last year, SFAM, an insurance company for multimedia devices, hit the headlines by carrying out wild and all-out withdrawals in an attempt to replenish its coffers. These fraudulent maneuvers were not enough, however, because the company and the entire group to which it belonged were subject to judicial liquidation, following countless complaints and lawsuits against them.
No matter, other players seem to have decided to use the same recipes, in order to relieve their “clients” of sums which can very quickly rise. For several days, the community site Signal-Scamswhich lists a large number of scams of all kinds, notes an increase in reports of unknown withdrawals. Although they have different names and come from several companies, they all have one thing in common: the acronym “HPY” appears in their wording.
These three letters are the abbreviation of HiPaya payment service provider for online merchants. This company, which is only a financial intermediary between a seller and a buyer, is therefore not directly responsible for the numerous strange debits reported recently. However, its online payment solution seems particularly popular with unscrupulous companies, who use it extensively to set up automatic debits.
If the shape varies slightly, the method is classic and always the same. A person buys something online, often a low-value service, and a few days later finds themselves charged a much larger sum, several dozen euros. In the cases currently reported, this concerns for example the purchase of a Kbis extract on the sites Infosociete.pro And societedata.netor an automobile administrative service on the sites Centre-automobiles.com or ab-auto.net.
Each time, the victims made a first payment of only €1.99, €1.49 or even €0.99 to obtain a trivial document or service… without realizing that they were actually subscribing to a much more expensive monthly subscription. In the following days, the victims then noticed withdrawals of €29.90, €39.90 and even €49.90 from their bank account, under labels such as “Hpy infosociete”, “Hpy societe data” or even “HPY*ab-auto.net”.
To set up these deductions, the sites in question proceed as follows: the service purchased is in reality a subscription to a trial period for a much more expensive subscription, which begins automatically a few days after the purchase. And obviously, this information is written in small print and absolutely not highlighted. If the method is not strictly illegal, it is in any case particularly unfair and borders on what could be called disguised sales.
So be particularly vigilant with this type of small-value online purchase. Among the main types of services which serve as cover for these hidden subscriptions, Signal-Arnaques lists in particular the file conversionthere provision of documents like instructions for useCV templates and termination lettersor even concierge services. In general, don’t pay for this sort of thing: there are free applications for converting files, and you’ll find free templates for administrative documents on sites like Droit-Fiances.net.
If you have nevertheless made this type of purchase recently, then monitor your account statements carefully in the coming days and weeks. And if you notice an unknown direct debit whose description contains the words “HPY”, act quickly. First of all, immediately contact the company whose name appears on the direct debit, in order to cancel the subscription as quickly as possible. At the same time, contact your bank to revoke the direct debit mandate in place and avoid any future debits.
You can also try to obtain a refund of the amounts already withdrawn, either from the service provider or from your bank. But in reality, there is little chance that you will succeed, because even if the subscription conditions or the check box were very barely visible at the time of payment, we will consider that you have validly authorized the debit. Caution and patience therefore when shopping on the Internet, because the sites know how to perfectly play with the limits of the law to make you buy without your knowledge.