Paris students jailed after using stolen bank card details to stay in Riviera hotels
Two Paris students have been jailed after using stolen bank card details to pay for hotel stays in Cannes and Saint-Tropez.
Two students from Paris have each been sentenced to six months in prison after using stolen bank card details to pay for hotel stays in Cannes and Saint-Tropez.
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The pair, both aged 22, were convicted by the Criminal Court in Draguignan of fraud after running up almost €4,000 in accommodation and other expenses during a weekend on the French Riviera.
According to the court, the men obtained dozens of stolen bank card numbers online before checking into hotels using false identity documents.
At one hotel in Cannes, they distracted a night porter and stole a payment terminal, which they used to test card details until they found one that worked.
They then used the victim's card to pay for their rooms and other purchases.
The same method was used at a hotel in Saint-Tropez, where further fraudulent transactions were made.
The scheme unravelled after another victim noticed suspicious activity on their account and alerted the hotel, leading to the suspects' arrest.
One of the defendants admitted they suspected the scheme was "dodgy" but claimed they had been looking for a cheap place to stay after travelling to the Côte d'Azur for the weekend.
In addition to their prison sentences, both men have been banned from entering the Var and Alpes-Maritimes departments for five years.