Thieves pinch from Sarkozy's bank account

As we have seen, President Sarkozy has been winning praise in France for what is seen as his masterful handling of the banking crisis. But his promise to guarantee the deposits of his citizens, has not extended to his own current account.

The Elysée palace has confirmed with a little embarrassment that internet thieves have gained access to Sarko's account at his branch at Neuilly, his suburban home, and helped themselves. (see Tuesday update at end)

There have been a series of debits of minor amounts -- in keeping with the phishing technique in which the crooks sneak out sums under about 200 euros in the hope of escaping detection. Sarko noticed the mysterious debits while going through his monthly statement. That must have been about the same time that he was arranging to pump billions into the banks on behalf of the tax-payer.

The authors of the swindle may not have realised whom they were dealing with and they may now wish that they had chosen a less distinguished target. "The swindlers will be punished," Luc Chatel, the secretary of state for consumer affairs, said as the fraud police put their finest sleuths onto the case. Once they nail the offenders, the Presidents' men may go after the bank --the Société Générale -- and bring charges of misuse of personal data. Sarko, Mr Zero Tolerance in matters of law-and-order, cannot have taken lightly to being phished.   

Chatel said the pilfering of Sarko's account showed that more needed to be done to tighten internet banking security. Fraud has risen by 9% this year. "This proves that the system of checking via the internet isn't infallible," he said.

France is suffering from about the same level of internet fraud as other European countries. In the field of payment cards that are used physically, it has had more security than most places because it introduced chips with PIN numbers in the early 1990s. Britain only did that with its credit cards a couple of years ago. About four years ago, someone stole my wallet with three credit cards when they picked my pocket. They did not manage to take anything off the French PIN-protected card but they spent several thousand euros on the two US-based cards within half an hour of the theft (all was immediately refunded by courteous Amex and Citibank customer service).

They were making fun of Sarko's hacking on the radio this morning. Nicolas Canteloup, who does a great daily impersonation of the President on Europe 1, did Sarkozy discovering that a certain "DSK" had debited his account to buy sex toys at an outlet in the Place Pigalle (see last post).

-----------

Tuesday update from Agence France-Presse:  French police arrested two suspects today as part of a probe to find computer hackers who broke into President Nicolas Sarkozy's bank account and made withdrawals, a source close to the enquiry said.

Sarkozy filed complaints last month about the theft, which involved small amounts of money taken from his account in a bank in the Neuilly suburb of the capital, which were used to set up several mobile phone subscriptions.

The source said the pair were detained in the Paris region but gave no further details.

Comments

[Daisy]

So did he have to go stand in line at the bank for two hours to sort it out only to be told he's in the wrong line? Maybe it's Ceci trying to get more alimony!

[Don]

[CB: They were making fun of Sarko's theft on the radio this morning. Nicolas Canteloup, who does a great daily impersonation of the President on Europe 1, did Sarkozy discovering that a certain "DSK" had debited his account to buy sex toys at an outlet in the Place Pigalle (see last post). ]

Wickedly funny ! :-)

[qwerty]

Damn, I bank in Neuilly. Should I be worried?

[azloon]

this is one thing sarko's bears no responsibility for. i'm impressed he goes over his own statement. it may, but probably not, inspire me to be more diligent myself.

not long ago, hackers in the philipines managed to enter my on-line brokerage account, install a linked bank account they had somehow managed to open in the name of the account, then start the process of transferring my cash balance to this linked account. fortunately for them (i am indemnified), the brokerage notified me prior to making the transfer.

i now have to enter a series of numbers, produced by a small security device synchronized with the brokerage's computer to enter my account.

CB, with your u.s. credit cards, you were indemnified against losses over a certain rather small amount. is this also true in france?

now, carlita's bank account -- there's one worth phishing.

and tangentially, in ten years or so, she'll be needing a bunch of sex toys.

[Daisy]

Was the money taken from his Clearstream bank account? :)

[John O'Donnell]

Sarko's account is at the Société Générale. Will he finally be able to get rid of Daniel Bouton for the disappearance of a few hundred euros when he couldn't get him for the billions lost by Jérôme Kerviel?

[richard.jones]

A series of vague comparisons gavotte through my amygdale.

What Canteloup does each day to Sarkozy and similar and how it passes without 'trop de matraquage' compared to the back stage scene with Sara Palin before Saturday Night Live, which by US standards was vitriolic and highly personal (Sara put him down tho' which regardless of her unsuitability as a VP was still nice to see), and a further comparison to all the institutionalised national shock, pomposity and puerility over La Marseillaise and a football game.

[Fernandez]

I'm with Azloon (10 years? It's been 10 months, I'm sure DSK is looking 'tempting'!)

I'm shocked he goes over his account statements as well!

[Michel R, London]

According to Libération, his bank account is at Société Générale. That might explain the recent share drop...

[john gregory flinn]

It's the internet access that is so vulnerable to phishers.
It's also expensive in l'Hexagone, which reason caused me to close my internet access some time ago. The regular debiting habits of French banks can be quite a surprise!
I've also considered closing my 'carte blue' because of its fee, except that there is some insurance attached which, luckily, I have not had to test yet. I'm assured from our host's experience here.

It goes without saying that anything as quick and convenient as the internet must come at a price.
Perhaps the proton super-collider at CERN will provide better web security as a spin-off. They claim new developments in this field!

[Blendi]

I would be glad if they will be caught. Judged. Then, Sumarily executed.

Wait a moment.Wait...wait...WAIT.

A Presidential Pardon, just few minutes before the execution and everyone is happy.

'Sarko the Humane?'

Everyone?
---
Sometimes is justice in this world. Few thieves had it coming as these guys. Am reminded of a case 2 years ago in uk.

Bad guys, broke into the home of Duncan Ferguson (an evertonian striker, of scotish origin) Duncan wasnt in the mood for a chat with thieves, lol, he didnt even dial 991.

So he beat them up, both of 'em, one ended up in the hospital.

---.
Did the lil thief deserved to be beaten up...well thats debatable.
So lets debate it.

* I think sometimes one finds what he's been loooking for.

---.

PS. What is the Opinion in France about Milan Kundera (I read y.reza's letter) but wanna know more...

[Jolly Swagman]

Can I just say that 'Phishing' is the act of obtaining the password etc. to an account, not the removal of funds from that account.
It usually has little to do with the internet itself, rather the human components!
For example: the phisher sets up a fake website that looks like your bank, then the phisher sends you (and a couple of million others) an email asking you to 'update your password' or similar with the address of my fake site. If you're fooled by this then the phisher has your details in short order.
I hope SuperSarko didn't fall for this one, then France and Europe had better start looking for a new financial action hero.

[Dashingprince]

For years the french have stolen from the British and others via the farming steal, now sarkosy gets some of his own medicine.

[sebastien]

DashingPrince:
[For years the french have stolen from the British and others via the farming steal, now sarkosy gets some of his own medicine.]

What a wonderfully irrelevant and confused comment. Thanks.

[Pierre]

BLENDI
I do not think there is, yet, one opinion in France about the Kundera case. (L'Express had a documented article).
Since you ask, more than to Reza's, I would "a priori" give great credit to Vaclav Havel's opinion. (I wish we had had in France a president of that moral "stature")
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/depeches/0,14-0,39-37345854@7-37,0.html
It goes better saying that, should the accusation be confirmed, it wouldn't take anything of Kuderas's litterature legacy. In France Celine -and Drieu- were "hatable" political bastards. And great writers.

[dot king]

I get about one a day "phishing" emails telling me an account already obsolete needs updating and which has never existed in terms of the e-mail address they send the update requests to.
Apart from that, the requests arrive in either English or French and are mostly full of mistakes in either language.
I routinely delete them, sometimes they arrive in my spam box anyway.

Until this thread I didn't know that it was "phishing" and now I understand what the "anti-hameçon" in my internet deal is for - even though if those get through, then it isn't working.

So thanks for the explanations, and I shall not take up my bank's repeated offers of internet banking!

[christopher muir]

BLENDI -

It's a shame about Milan Kundera. It was your comment that made me check up on the situation. The attached link might be helpful. I notice that Havel is calling for caution.
-------------
Internet banking is really a useful tool. However, Sarkozy's misadventure with his account underlines how delicate the entire fabric is. Remember Estonia being crippled by hackers last year? HG Wells would surely have been mapping out a fascinating scenario were he alive today.

http://www.newstin.co.uk/tag/uk/82266379

[V]

I must protest to the use by Charles of this photo - irrefutable proof of his French bashing tendencies! :)

[Daniel Strohl]

V,

"I must protest to the use by Charles of this photo - irrefutable proof of his French bashing tendencies! :)

I protest as well :). Moreover, I am worried by CHARLES' conspicuous drift towards socialism - this is very apparent in the choice of the (rather) flattering photo of our newly self-promoted "gloire nationale", i.e DSK :)

[Mike Marriot]

Hohoho! Charles, what a funny subject you've found to write about in this time of financial and banking crisis. It would be too easy to accuse you of having been bought by the Murdoch dollar so I won't do that.
But really, no coverage today of your newspaper's stable-mate's continued attempts to remove DSK from the IMF? I know, I know, it's nowhere near as interesting as taking the piss out of Sarkozy but still, you do at least purport to be a journalist.

[If you look on The Times online you will find today's coverage. The story is happening in Washington, not Paris. CB]

[Sterling]

Why doesn't anyone in France ever ask where Sarkozy gets his money? Here's a lifelong politician who has lived on a government salary most of his life, and yet he appears to easily afford 10,000-euro watches and other baubles. We know for sure that Sarkozy was not rich as a young man, since he sued his father for non-support, and that he has never been a businessman. His way of life, just like Jacques Chrirac's, would make no financial sense in any other major democracy.

[rocket]

Sorry V

"I must protest to the use by Charles of this photo - irrefutable proof of his French bashing tendencies! :)"

If a French politician is not gesticulating he's/she's grimacing.

Can't fight against nature.

[Valentin]

It's called being alive, Rocket, it's called expressssiiivity. As in, not being dull, that is. :)

[Daniel Strohl]

STERLING,

"Here's a lifelong politician who has lived on a government salary most of his life"

He was also a lawyer and had a law firm. After having married Carla Bruni, he is quoted to have said : "Je suis enfin riche" ! He has more humour than many of his competitors, and a much faster mind as well (even if he is NOT a Ecole Nationale d'Aministration graduate :)

"since he sued his father for non-support"

I didn't know that - however, if it is true, then he has in this matter an alter ego in the Socialist Party, i.e Mrs. Royal, who is known to have done just that and who didn't try to deny it.

ROCKET,

"If a French politician is not gesticulating he's/she's grimacing"

Does it happen to you to watch American TV when politicians of either sex appear on the screen ? They always have a big and permanent grin (sorry, smile !), showing broadly their shining teeth to everybody, interested or not :).

PS : some French politicians try to do the same - mais ils n'arrivent en général pas au même niveau - question de différence de culture :)

[Blendi P.]

Pierre,

Havel’s intervention is a good one, especially since he has lived during those troubled times. After all its only fair to give the ‘subject’ a chance to deny the ‘story’ before it went into print.We often forget, in our rush to judge others, that despite the person, the circumstances, the background where something takes place is very important.

No one is totally good or bad, and no one is just a hero/ with strong moral fibre 100% of the time. Sometimes things from the past are either exaggerated a little or used by people of lesser stature to vilify a writer/famous person.

Christopher Muir

Thanks for the link also, I been reading quite a few papers about this story, in England it ahs been reported a little also. My point stems from a parallelism not long ago, something ‘similar’ happened to G. Grass in Germany.

Though the differences between them /cases deviate from ‘left-to-right’ very qucikly .

-----
GG. was a young SS soldier (volunteering at a time when everything was gone for the Nazis) but he was outspoken to the point that he was somehow called ‘ the conscience of Germany’ .
But he never told his ‘own story’, while urging Germany into catharsis and blaming the Nazis; so when it was discovered what he did- there was an uproar and it reverberated around the world as Grass is the best living writer (in some folks opinion- and I too, like him a lot) and there were calls for people to boycott his books, calls on Noble Prize Committee to take the prize back from him etc..amny things were said about GG.

On the other hand we have Kundera who for 30 years keep quiet, didn’t lecture anyone and carried on with his own life.

Both though, will have it tough as long as they live –that’s for sure- only after people like them die then we judge more coldly and are able to separate their work from their persona/life (or naturally forget about it).
By keeping a secret and not being honest doesn’t make Grass less Grass, but before accepting his part in the war (publicly) one can’t pretend to ‘teach others (publicly) as he did. That smacks of hypocrisy and leaves a bitter taste.

Did Kundera or didn’t he. A good argument is that if he did The Czech Secret Service would have published his file (this incident) 30 years ago, before he went to France- if only to discredit him. But one never knows.

---.
I expressed this interest for another reason too, more or less as a buffer just in case the marriage of Madona ( madaaana!) and Guy was brought in here.
I know CB wont slip that way, but some others might… and then…

There Goes the Blog.

:)

[azloon]

[american politicians] "always have a big and permanent grin (sorry, smile !), showing broadly their shining teeth to everybody, interested or not :)." DS

interested? does one have to figure out whether others are 'interested' before daring to smile? what a bummer !

isn't this really about pretty teeth? americans have 'em, europeans don't?

when you've spent a small fortune on cosmetic dentistry, why cover it up?

:o))))))))))))))))))))

DARE TO GRIN!!!

[dot king]

cosmetic dentistry (Azloon)

we call them "tombstone teeth" :)

[azloon]

'tombstone teeth'

the nice ones or the rotty ones?

[Daniel Strohl]

AZLOON,

"DARE TO GRIN"

No problem !

[qwerty]

On teeth: current scientific breakthrough: they're cultivating new teeth from stem cells. Will in a relatively near future be able to mend teeth and even replace teeth that have entirely gone. So I'm hanging on to that inlay I had to have after partially breaking a pre-molar (it feels like an aspirin - ugh) until they're ready to put in something that's me. (maybe 5 years to wait?)

[PAUL 1st]

If one refuses all Internet banking, one cannot buy online. That is a pity for people like Dot King, who would seem to be pretty cultured, as it means one is missing out on all sorts of books and CDs not found in stores. The solution is to have a special account reserved for Internet use, and not to keep too much money in it.

[dot king]

Dear Paul 1st,
Please be reassured, I do quite regularly buy books CD's DVD's through Amazon, and I have a couple of very nice watches and 3 pashmina bought from E-bay.
Up to now I've not had any problem as both use secure systems.
However the "phishing" that comes almost every day is telling me that my Paypal account needs updating - and the only place I've used Paypal is on E-bay, but through a different e-mail address, which is what alerted me to look more closely at the "phish" and then I noticed that the requests, even though they look exacly like a Paypal page, are peppered with fautes d'orthographe, or if in English, the equivalent.

When I say I don't do internet banking, I mean I don't check my accounts online or order any transfers that way either. I quite like to sit down and check my statements once a month and bin all the dockets and scribble out the cheque "talons". I also like having a physical person whom I can go and see at the physical bank. I don't know why, especially right now, and especially as I'm with Banque Populaire, but I find reassurance in it :).

I think I might also have mentioned somewhere that I'm not by nature materialistic or acquistive, so I don't feel a permanent need to be "shopping".

It's kind of you to worry about my sources of culture (all donations welcomed :)), but I have shelves and piles of unread books that belong to me as I give priority to those that are in transit. Most other (anglophone) readers return to the UK or the USA regularly and the latest Eng Lang Lit comes to me that way - on loan.

QWERTY I'm about to embark on my first Fred Vargas - but was already able to answer a question about her on "le jeu des €1000" the other day - as well as - DANIEL - one about les moutons de Manurge a couple of weeks ago - just after you'd mentioned it here.
Human experience? Or judgemental heuristics?

[rocket]

Dot

we call them "tombstone teeth" :)

I've seen some Brits that look like they've got corn niblets for teeth LOL