France's financial markets authority disclosed that victims of investment scams lost an average of €29,500 in 2024, while the regulator imposed €26.5 million in sanctions as enforcement efforts reached new heights amid a surge in digital fraud targeting younger investors.

French Investors Lose €29,500 on Average to Online Scams in 2024

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) reported that 15% of French citizens believe they have been victims of financial fraud, with the figure jumping to 35% among those under 35 years old. The data underscores how digital natives have become prime targets for sophisticated online investment schemes proliferating across social media platforms.

The €29,500 average loss figure reflects the sophisticated nature of modern investment fraud, particularly schemes targeting younger investors through social media channels. The AMF emphasized that the substantial financial impact on victims, combined with the tragic personal consequences, requires urgent action across the regulatory ecosystem.

"We cannot accept such a situation," AMF President Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani stated in the regulator's annual letter to the French President. The authority has mobilized alongside other competent authorities, setting a goal to make its actions faster and more effective in financial education, prevention, and enforcement.

The report does not directly reference CFDs or contracts for difference. However, this market has been losing significance in recent years in France, with the number of active traders (defined as those who made at least one transaction in a year) falling to a four-year low, below 30,000.

Enforcement Actions Reach Record Intensity

The AMF's Commission des sanctions issued 12 sanction decisions in 2024, affecting 60 individuals and entities - the highest number of persons prosecuted in recent years, compared to 40 in 2023 and 32 in 2022. Of those prosecuted, 46 persons were ultimately sanctioned, while 14 individuals were exonerated in two insider trading cases.

Financial penalties ranged from €10,000 to €7 million, with 45 of the 46 sanctioned persons receiving monetary fines. The total amount was paid into the French Treasury, marking a notable year for financial enforcement consistent with previous years' intensity.

Beyond monetary penalties, the regulator imposed disciplinary measures on 12 individuals and entities, including formal warnings, reprimands, and temporary professional bans ranging from two to five years.

For comparison, the Cypriot market watchdog CySEC in the same period carried out over 850 audits and issued €2.76 million in fines.

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Digital Fraud Schemes Target Young Investors

In her letter to the President, Barbat-Layani stressed that "France is a great financial country, one of the most important and respected on these subjects so essential to the lives of our fellow citizens." She warned that the current fraud epidemic represents a genuine societal phenomenon contributing to the degradation of citizen confidence, with sometimes tragic personal consequences.

The regulator's enforcement actions resulted in 181 fraudulent website addresses being shut down - 117 through court decisions and 64 blocked by operators following AMF injunctions. The authority also opened 56 new investigations and completed 47 control procedures during the year.

Social media platforms have emerged as primary channels for investment fraud, with the AMF observing multiple concerning trends. Many financial influencers have developed partnerships with trading platforms, some lacking proper authorization to provide digital asset services in France, violating the country's influencer law from June 2023.

The regulator highlighted mass scams such as "Immediate Connect," which used fake news articles featuring public figures to promote fraudulent automated trading services on foreign exchange and cryptocurrency markets. The AMF issued three public warnings and reported approximately 40 websites linked to this particular scheme.

Consumer Inquiries Surge as Fraud Proliferates

The authority's consumer information service, AMF Épargne Info Service, processed 13,374 requests in 2024, representing an 11% increase from the previous year. Of these inquiries, 88% came from individual investors and 61% concerned unregulated entities, highlighting the scope of unauthorized financial activities targeting French consumers.

Mediation requests to the AMF surged 15% compared to 2023, particularly for cases involving real estate investment trusts (SCPI) and real estate crowdfunding. The mediator issued 710 recommendation proposals while the backlog of pending cases doubled to 455 files by year-end.

The financial authority supervised 695 asset management companies and monitored collective investment schemes worth €2.158 trillion in assets under management. It processed 272 visa applications for financial operations and oversaw 14 initial public offerings during the year.

European Financial Integration Remains Priority

Looking beyond domestic challenges, Barbat-Layani emphasized France's role in European financial development. "The European project of Savings and Investment Union is the most important project of our generation in financial matters," she stated, calling for approximately €1 trillion in additional annual financing to support Europe's energy transition, digital transformation, and defense needs.

The AMF President highlighted three major priorities for achieving this union: mobilizing European savings, establishing genuine European supervision of capital markets, and relaunching securitization markets.

"The European investor will be, alongside major institutional investors, the key to the success of the Savings and Investment Union," Barbat-Layani noted, emphasizing the convergent interests between individual investors and the broader economy.