Watch out for these scams as Paris prepares for 2024 Olympics

With the world’s biggest sporting event set to arrive in France this summer, residents are warned to be alert to a host of new scams looking to capitalise on the increased traffic and interest.

The Olympics are set to kick off in Paris on July 26 (until August 11), with the Paralympics beginning on August 28 (until September 8). Around 15 million visitors are anticipated during the event.

Some of the most high-profile scams already identified include: 

Fake ticket sales and ‘free’ tickets

Scammers have begun to take advantage as the Paris Mairie begins to send recipients emails with 55,000 free tickets for the Opening Ceremony on July 26.

Fraudsters are now sending similar emails promising ‘free tickets’, asking only for a ‘shipping fee’ in payment. Through this, they are stealing people’s payment details.

Scammers are “posing as [organisers of] Paris 2024” and “claim to be distributing, in collaboration with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee” free tickets with a shipping fee, warned consumer watchdog the DGCCRF (la Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes).

The email includes a link that asks recipients for their personal data and bank details, so they can be sent the ‘free’ paper ticket. But the DGCCRF has stated that there are no paper tickets being sent in this manner for neither the Olympics nor the Paralympics.

As with any other scam, people are warned never to click on a link contained within an email or text that ‘comes out of the blue’, and to be alert to tell-tale signs such as bad grammar, spelling mistakes, or poor-quality images. Similarly, recipients are warned never to share bank details in this way.

In a statement, the Organising Committee said: “Under no circumstances will you be asked to provide your login details for your ticketing account (username and password), nor your bank details.

“Paris 2024 will not request any personal or banking information from you other than via the official ticketing site and the Paris 2024 Club site.”

Fake hospitality reviews and Olympics merchandise

A sharp uptick in visitors expected in Paris over the summer and during the Games is leading to a rise in fake hotel and restaurant reviews on online sites.

This can include everything from extra stars being added to average ratings, misleading photos, negative reviews being deleted, or false information such as “a homemade breakfast” that is actually made up of processed, mass-produced food.

The DGCCRF has also identified problems with “fictional airport transfer services” and other too-good-to-be-true offers designed to trip up foreign visitors.

The unit has been investigating thousands of reviews, and is set to “intensify” its checks before and after the Games to ensure that information is accurate, it said. 

It has also been cracking down on fake Games merchandise and advertising, and is also working to ensure that goods for sale are “not dangerous or counterfeit”.

Read also: Day by day: Where Olympic torch will pass in France on way to Paris

Excess restaurant tips

Some restaurants have already been identified as attempting to trick foreign visitors into paying much more in tips than is customary. People from the US, which has a major tipping culture, may be particularly susceptible.

In France, a mandatory 15% is added as a service charge to all restaurant bills. A tip (pourboire) is typically considered optional for exceptional service, and even then, only usually 5-10% of the total bill maximum. 

Read also: MAP: Where do diners tip the most in France - and how much is usual?

However, some restaurants have reportedly been encouraging guests to leave more as a way to “pay it forward”, a concept that is known in the US to help people on lower incomes - either the servers or future customers - but is not a common practice in France.

“You can only think that this is a way to get the French to leave bigger tips or to get foreigners to give as much as they would in their own countries,” said Bordeaux University professor Olivier Babeau to the NY Post.

He said he was “very surprised” to hear about the practice, and said that “it’s not totally absurd to imagine that this new practice is linked with the Olympics”.