ATM Card Trapping (Lebanese Loop) Scam in France
In France the Lebanese loop is known as the "collet marseillais": a sleeve hidden in a distributeur's card slot traps your carte bancaire while a helpful bystander memorises your PIN, then extracts the card and withdraws cash once you leave.
Part of: ATM Card Trapping (Lebanese Loop) Scam
Last reviewed: 24 July 2026
France is where this trap earned its French name, the collet marseillais, and it remains a recurring problem at standalone distributeurs automatiques de billets (DAB), Metro and RER station machines, and 24-hour bank-vestibule ATMs in tourist-heavy areas of Paris, Marseille, Nice and the Cote d'Azur.\n\nBecause a carte bancaire being "avalee" (swallowed) is an everyday event and French cards are chip-and-PIN, a retained card raises no alarm, which is exactly what the crew running the loop counts on. The detail that matters: your card was never taken by the bank's mechanism at all. It is snagged in a thief's sleeve inside the slot.
How this scam works on France
A thin loop or plastic sleeve, the collet marseillais, is pushed deep into the card slot of a distributeur, often an older standalone machine or one inside a Metro/RER station or a night-access bank vestibule entered by swiping a card. Your carte bancaire goes in, the screen may ask for your code confidentiel, then reports the card as conservee or avalee and fails to return it.\n\nA bystander who happens to be nearby, speaking fluent French and sounding knowledgeable, insists you re-enter your PIN or press a sequence of keys to release it, positioning themselves to read the keypad. Some setups add a counterfeit sticker over the machine bearing a fake assistance or "opposition" number, so a victim who tries to call for help reaches the fraudsters instead. Reassured to faire opposition tomorrow, you leave; the crew pulls the sleeve, card included, and empties the account before it is blocked.
Common red flags
- Your carte bancaire is shown as conservee or avalee at a standalone or station distributeur with no clear reason
- A stranger speaking fluent French appears the instant your card sticks and offers to help
- A sticker or notice on the machine gives an assistance or opposition number that is not your bank's official one
- Anything loose, protruding, or taped around the mouth of the card slot; a collet marseillais often sits slightly proud
- Someone urging you to re-enter your code confidentiel or press a button sequence to release the card
- Being reassured to simply faire opposition the next day rather than treating it as theft in progress
- An isolated DAB late at night in a tourist district where you feel watched
How to protect yourself
- Prefer distributeurs inside staffed bank branches during opening hours over standalone or station machines
- Tug and wobble the card slot before inserting; a collet marseillais is often loose or protrudes slightly from the reader
- Shield the keypad with your free hand whenever you enter your code confidentiel, even if the machine seems broken
- Never re-enter your PIN or follow keypad instructions from a bystander, however helpful they seem
- If your card is retained, faire opposition immediately from where you stand using your bank's app or a number you already saved, never one stuck on the machine
- Do not walk away and leave a trapped card unattended while a stranger lingers nearby
How to report it
- Faire opposition on the card immediately through your bank's app or the national interbank opposition service (serveur interbancaire de mise en opposition), using a number you already trust and not one displayed on the machine
- File a plainte at a commissariat de police or gendarmerie, or begin a pre-plainte en ligne, describing the machine and anyone who approached
- Report the fraudulent card debits via Perceval on service-public.fr, accessed through FranceConnect, once you have your bank's opposition confirmation
- Call the government anti-fraud line Info Escroqueries (0 805 805 817) for guidance on next steps
- Tell the bank or operator that owns the machine so they can inspect it and take it out of service
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Lebanese loop called the collet marseillais in France?
Because the trapping device, a sleeve or snare pushed into the card slot, became strongly associated with fraud crews operating in and around France, and collet marseillais (roughly, Marseille snare) is the everyday French term for it. The name refers only to the mechanical trap; the second half of the scam is the same shoulder-surfing seen everywhere. Recognising the term helps you understand warnings from French banks and police.
My carte was avalee at a station distributeur, so is it safe inside the machine?
Not necessarily. A card shown as conservee or avalee may have been captured by the bank's mechanism, or snagged by a collet marseillais just out of reach, and from the screen you cannot tell them apart. Because a swallowed card feels routine in France, many people wait until morning to faire opposition, which is exactly the gap the trap needs. Treat every retained card as possible theft and block it on the spot.
A sticker on the machine had a number to call about my stuck card. Should I use it?
No. Fraud crews sometimes place a counterfeit assistance or opposition sticker over a French distributeur so a panicking victim calls them instead of the bank. Only faire opposition using your bank's official app or a number you already had before today, never one printed on or near the machine. If a sticker looks added, or the number is unfamiliar, that is itself a sign the machine has been tampered with.