Credit card: what to do if you have been a victim of fraud?

You are considered a victim of credit card fraud, when your card is still in your possession but its details have been used for an online purchase that you did not originate.

You must then oppose as soon as possible, that is to say block the use of your credit card by contacting your bank or the interbank server reserved for objections (open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day).

Then you can report this fraud on the Perceval platform. This approach makes it possible in particular to facilitate:

• repayment of stolen amounts (the Perceval report can be used as proof with your bank);
• the fight against the perpetrators of these banking offenses (reports are collected, analyzed and cross-checked at national level in order to identify criminal networks).

The Perceval service evolved on October 14, 2026. Now, the online procedure for reporting fraud to the credit card is accessible directly from the platform of the Ministry of the Interior « My Security ».

As part of this online approach, you must have at hand:

• your credit card;
• your IBAN;
• and your account statements.

The time taken to complete the procedure is approximately 20 minutes.

Your declaration is processed, as a rule, within 7 days of its receipt by an authorized service.

The status of your application is communicated to you by email, along with your file number.

The Perceval report does not replace a complaint. You can also report fraud within a police station or gendarmerie brigade.

To obtain a refund of the amount debited from your bank account during the fraud, you need to check with your bank to find out how you should apply.

Your bank cannot require a complaint from you as a prerequisite for analyzing your refund request.

What precautions should be taken to avoid being a victim of fraud?

To avoid being a victim of credit card fraud, some precautions should be taken. In particular, it is important to bear in mind that:

• your bank advisor will never ask you for a code, password or username, or to carry out or validate a financial transaction;
• your bank, as well as the Banque de France, will never ask you for your bank details, personal information or the cancelation of a banking transaction;
• the tax administration will not in any way send you an invitation to fill out an online form to obtain a refund without logging into your personalized area. It will also not text you about an unpaid fine.

In addition, it is recommended to:

• verify that the web page is secure (its name must start with https) when you pay on the internet;
• prioritize, as much as possible, the safest strong authentication solution for your online payments (confirmation of payment via a smartphone banking application, etc.);
• never entrust your payment instrument to a third party (close, courier, etc.), even at the request of your banker.