Remember the story that emerged last October about French president Nicolas Sarkozy having his bank account siphoned, or as some hastened to conclude, “hacked into”? Well, as expected, it turns out the scam is far less sophisticated than initially suggested, especially by our friends the vendors of security technology.

In fact, the fraud originated at a company that handles payment processing for several consumer-oriented businesses, including premium TV channel Canal + (the French equivalent of Sky). One employee, who had access to client information, reportedly provided several subscribers’ bank account details (including Sarkozy’s) to an accomplice who opened mobile phone accounts with the stolen payment information.

The thieves got caught after Sarkozy noticed a suspicious €170  transaction on his bank statement. But in the end, there was no genius hacking or password theft involved here, just small-time crooks who picked the worst possible bank account to steal from.

Filed under: Retail Banking, Technology