To reassure the targets, the scammers sometimes went as far as to schedule fake appointments with Mr. Le Drian at the French Parliament or to send fake documents from France’s central bank, purporting to show that the money was being reimbursed. “Imagine: Someone calls you from the defense ministry and says: ‘Would you accept to do France a favor?’” she said, arguing that the scammers had preyed upon the gullibility but also the patriotism of their targets. The scam “could have interfered in political and diplomatic issues and it could have put France in very delicate situations,” she added. In most cases, suspicious targets balked after checking in with the Defense Ministry, which first alerted investigators in July 2015 that something was afoot.

Source: New York Times February 05, 2020 03:56 UTC