Housing scam in Bordeaux: you paid a deposit to a fake landlord, what to do
A studio near the campus, photos, a "landlord" abroad who asks for the deposit before any viewing. Then silence. Here is what the firm can do, and what it cannot.
Gabriel Lassort, member of the Bordeaux Bar since 2018 · 4.9 / 5 from 180 Google reviews · 05 47 74 93 92
In brief
Paying a deposit or a first month's rent for a flat that does not exist, or that belongs to someone else, is fraud (escroquerie, article 313-1 of the Criminal Code). You can file a complaint whatever your residence status. If you made the transfer yourself, the bank does not have to refund you, but it must try to recover the money. If your income is low and there is no other way to be compensated, the victims' compensation commission (commission d'indemnisation des victimes) may compensate you. A scam does not give you a residence permit (titre de séjour) and does not take yours away.
The fake lawyer or "adviser" who promises a residence permit in exchange for money commits the same offence: see fake lawyer and residence permit.
Last updated 9 October 2026. Written by Gabriel Lassort, member of the Bordeaux Bar since 2018.
The most common scam
The ad is well below the usual price for the area and says "available immediately". The landlord works abroad, cannot organise a viewing, but will send the keys as soon as the deposit arrives, by bank transfer, by cash voucher or by prepaid coupons. He attaches a copy of an identity card and a "contract": these documents are stolen or forged. Other versions: a real flat sublet by someone who does not own it and who collects several deposits; an ad copied from an agency website, with an email address close to the agency's; in a group of foreign students, someone "from your country" who offers help in return for a fee.
What to do within the hour
Stop all payments. "Insurance fees", "key delivery fees" or "a refund in return for a small sum" are the second half of the scam.
Write to your bank. If you made the transfer yourself, ask for a recall of the funds: your bank must try to recover them from the beneficiary's bank (article L. 133-21 of the Monetary and Financial Code, code monétaire et financier), with no guarantee of result. The faster you ask, the more likely the money is still there. If your card or your account was used without your involvement, report it without delay so that it is blocked (article L. 133-17) and dispute the transaction in writing (article L. 133-24). The bank must then refund you by the end of the next business day at the latest, unless it suspects fraud on your part and informs the Banque de France (article L. 133-18), or unless it proves gross negligence on your part (articles L. 133-19 and L. 133-23).
Keep the evidence: dated screenshots of the ad and of the profile before they are deleted, messages, the payment details you were given, a copy of the identity document the "landlord" sent, proof of payment. Then report the ad to the platform so that it is taken down. A report to the platform or to Pharos is not a complaint.
Filing a complaint
If you never met the person and were asked for money, the complaint can be filed online, on the THESEE website, which is only open to adults (articles 15-3-1 and D. 8-2-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, code de procédure pénale). It requires a FranceConnect identification, which many recently arrived students do not yet have, and it is never compulsory.
You can also go to the police station or the gendarmerie in Bordeaux. They must take your complaint and give you a receipt (article 15-3), with an interpreter if you ask for one (article 10-2). Or you can send a written complaint to the public prosecutor of Bordeaux (procureur de la République), by registered letter, with your documents (article 40). This is what the firm does, together with a request to identify the holder of the account that received the money. The prosecutor tells you what follows (article 40-2). If the prosecutor does not start proceedings, or if three months pass without an answer to a complaint filed with the prosecutor against a receipt or by registered letter, you may file a complaint with civil-party status before the investigating judge (plainte avec constitution de partie civile, article 85). You must pay a sum to the court (consignation), fixed according to your income (article 88).
If other people paid a deposit for the same ad or to the same account, say so: a joint complaint carries more weight.
Getting your money back: what is realistic
When the victim made the transfer himself or herself, the transaction is authorised and the bank does not have to refund it. The Court of Cassation holds the bank liable only for an obvious anomaly that is easy to detect. In two cases decided on 19 November 2025, where companies had already made large transfers abroad, it ruled out such an anomaly. Each case depends on the history of the account. Before you commit to any fees, the firm tells you what your file allows.
The routes that remain: recalling the funds, requested immediately; identifying the account holder through the investigation, then claiming damages from him or her; and the victims' compensation commission (commission d'indemnisation des victimes d'infractions). It may compensate the victim of a fraud who cannot obtain any other reparation, who is in a serious material or psychological situation, and whose income is below a ceiling, provided the facts took place in France (articles 706-3 and 706-14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) no requirement of lawful residence. The claim must be made within three years of the offence (article 706-5).
If the transaction was made without your consent, it is the other way round: a refund is due. In a case decided on 23 October 2024, the Court of Cassation ruled out gross negligence by a customer who had been put at ease by a call displaying his bank's number. On 4 March 2026, it recalled that approving a message that clearly announces a payment can be gross negligence.
What about my residence permit?
A scam does not give you any residence card, and it does not take yours away.
What the firm does, and at what price
A written answer within two working days after reading your messages and proofs of payment: the right complaint, the letter to the bank, possible compensation. You pay online after this answer.
| First written opinion, deducted from the next stage | 200 € |
| Complaint to the Bordeaux prosecutor and steps with the bank | 590 € |
| Complaint with civil-party status, after the firm's complaint (court consignation not included) | + 500 € |
| Victims' compensation commission (income-tested) | 690 € |
| Claim to the bank and banking ombudsman, without a complaint | 350 € |
| Joint complaint by several victims of the same ad | 590 € + 250 € per victim |
Legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) may, depending on your situation, cover the civil-party complaint and the compensation commission; the firm checks this before any commitment.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The police must take your complaint and give you a receipt (article 15-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). If you never met the person and have a FranceConnect identification, the complaint can also be filed online.
Not if you made the transfer yourself: the transaction is authorised. It must try to recall the funds (article L. 133-21 of the Monetary and Financial Code). If your card or your account was used without your involvement, a refund is due, unless the bank proves gross negligence.
Thirteen months from the date of the debit (article L. 133-24), but you must report it without delay, as soon as you become aware of it.
The victims' compensation commission may compensate the victim of a fraud under three conditions: no other reparation is possible, the situation is seriously difficult materially or psychologically, and income is below a ceiling (article 706-14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The facts must have taken place in France, and the claim must be made within three years.
It does not give you any card and does not take yours away. Losing your housing or your income may count at renewal: talk to the firm about it.
No. The firm steps in when the complaint must be drafted and legally characterised with care, when action is needed with the bank, or when several victims join together.
Read more
- Scam victim in France as a foreigner
- Does a complaint give me a residence permit?
- Theft, fraud, breach of trust: understanding the differences (in French)
- Criminal law (in French) · Criminal defence (in French)
- The firm's fees (in French)
Texts cited
- Criminal Code : 313-1
- Code of Criminal Procedure : 10-2, 15-3, 15-3-1, 40, 40-2, 85, 88, 706-3, 706-5, 706-14, D. 8-2-1
- Monetary and Financial Code : L. 133-17, L. 133-18, L. 133-19, L. 133-21, L. 133-23, L. 133-24
- Court of Cassation, commercial chamber : 23 October 2024, no. 23-16.267; 19 November 2025, no. 24-17.780 and 24-17.056; 4 March 2026, no. 24-19.588
You have just paid a deposit and the "landlord" no longer answers.
Write to the firm: written answer within two working days.