Online card fraud is one of the most common problems newcomers in France run into: a fake parcel text, a fake buyer on Leboncoin or Vinted, or a website that looks exactly like your bank's. Service Public has just updated its guidance, and a new EU court ruling strengthens your right to a refund. Here is what to do, in order.
Step 1: block your card straight away
As soon as you see a payment you did not make, block (faire opposition à ) your card. The fastest way is usually your bank's app or its own emergency line. You can also call the interbank card blocking line on 0 892 705 705, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a paid number.
Your bank gives you an opposition number. Keep it. Blocking late can give your bank a reason to refuse a refund, so do not wait.
Step 2: report the fraud on Perceval
Perceval is the Interior Ministry's online service for card fraud. It is now reached directly from the Ma Sécurité platform, since a change on 14 October 2026.
- Have your card, your IBAN and your bank statements ready.
- It takes about 20 minutes.
- Your declaration is usually processed within 7 days, and you get updates by email with a case number.
- If you started a Perceval report before 14 October without validating it, you have to start again.
Your Perceval report serves as proof for your bank. It is not a criminal complaint. If you also want to file one, you can go to a police station or gendarmerie, or, for fake shops, phishing or a hacked email account, file online through THESEE.
Step 3: ask your bank for a refund
Contact your bank and follow its procedure to contest the payments. Two rules protect you:
- Your bank cannot make a police complaint a condition for looking at your refund request.
- For an unauthorised payment, the bank must refund you immediately, and at the latest by the end of the next business day after you contest it, including any fees it charged as a result.
A fraudulent payment cannot be refunded if it is more than 13 months old, so check your statements regularly. If your bank refuses, you can go to the bank's médiateur, which is free, and then to court.
The new ruling: "you were careless" is no longer a reason to delay
Banks often refuse refunds by arguing the customer was grossly negligent, for example by typing their login details into a fake bank website. On 15 October 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on exactly that case.
A woman selling an item online received a link from a fake buyer. It led to a copy of her bank's website, where she entered her online banking details and the code sent to her phone. About 700 euros left her account. Her bank refused to refund her, saying she had been grossly negligent.
The Court held that a customer's gross negligence does not allow a bank to delay refunding an unauthorised payment. The bank must refund first. Afterwards it can take the customer to court, but it is the bank that has to prove gross negligence. The ruling applies across the EU, including in France.
What it does not cover: "authorised" fraud, where you yourself order a transfer, for example under pressure from someone pretending to be your bank adviser. Those cases are much harder to get refunded, which is why the warning signs below matter.
How to spot a scam
- Your bank adviser will never ask you for a code, a password or your login, or ask you to carry out or confirm a transaction.
- Your bank and the Banque de France will never ask for your bank details or ask you to cancel a transaction.
- The tax office will not ask you to fill in a refund form without logging in to your account, and does not send texts about unpaid fines.
- When you pay online, check the address starts with https, and use the strongest confirmation your bank offers, such as approving in its app.
- Never hand your card to anyone, even someone who says they work for your bank.
Sources: Service Public on card fraud and on the EU court ruling, and the card fraud guide.