French looters sell stolen items in plain sight on Vinted
Vinted vows “zero tolerance” for stolen goods.
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- More than 1,500 shops in France were vandalized during protests.
- Stolen clothes, watches, phones, makeup, and perfume appeared on Vinted and Leboncoin at suspiciously low prices.
- Some sellers used the "October 17" hashtag, linking listings to the day of the protests.
- Vinted says it is removing suspicious listings, banning accounts, and working with French authorities.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
A number of French businesses had their shops reduced to rubble during the October 17th protests that swept the nation. Now, their products are appearing on platforms like Vinted.
The hashtag “October 17” was trending on the secondhand marketplace after student protests over living standards and underinvestment in the country’s education system turned into riots.
Looters took advantage of the situation and went to social media to show off and sell their ill-gotten gains.
Vinted said it was against its policy to sell stolen goods on the platform and is removing suspicious listings.
“Terrifying level of stupidity”
The day after the protest, posts on social media, such as TikTok, began to emerge, with some users bragging about what they stole.
The stolen goods included bags with clothes, Rolex watches, smartphones, and tablets.
While the creators of these videos boasted about their “catch,” many users criticized them for being careless and for showing their faces, which could easily incriminate them.
“Filming himself with his face uncovered, well, for him, that's the dumbest thing,” wrote one X user.
“Terrifying level of stupidity. Shame on the looters,” wrote another user.
“Stealing Apple products must be the lowest IQ move of them all,” shared a user in response to another video showing a hand going through a bag filled with Apple products. Some users were quick to point out that once stolen, new Apple devices are bricked and thus unusable.
Making a profit on Vinted
The stolen products, including makeup, perfumes, sneakers, jewelry, and more, could be found for sale on secondhand platforms such as Vinted and Leboncoin, reported Le Dauphiné Libéré.
The screenshots show that these items are sold in bulk, with prices being much lower than on the market. The timing of these items being listed is also suspicious, suggesting they were listed a day or less ago.
While some people who decided to steal didn’t brag directly to the internet about what they got, as they just wanted to make some cash, they weren’t too subtle about where they got the products from, either.
The protest date was turned into a hashtag that appeared in some Vinted listing descriptions, suggesting that certain listings were stolen during the protests.
Given that the listed items are from well-known, expensive brands and are sold in bulk at much lower prices, the platform also included requests from potential buyers looking to purchase these goods.
For example, buyers would look for listings that sell makeup or perfume from Sephora, or clothing from Zara.
The situation drew the attention of Benjamin Cauchy, a French politician, who addressed Vinted on X, stating that allowing such listings online constitutes complicity in receiving stolen goods.
Vinted reacts to emerging listings
"The sale of stolen goods, or soliciting them, is strictly prohibited on Vinted, and we have zero tolerance for it,” Vinted told Cybernews in an email.
“Since this weekend, our teams have taken immediate action to identify and remove listings linked to the looting, and we have stepped up monitoring of suspicious listings. When our rules are breached, we act against the accounts involved, up to permanent bans,” it said.
As of Monday, the number of listings using keywords like “October 17” on Vinted France seemed to have gone down.
Vinted said that it’s “actively collaborating with law enforcement and the French authorities,” and it “continually adapts its processes to detect and counter emerging risks and malicious behavior."
Protests around France
It’s been reported that more than 1,500 shops in France were vandalized during the protest. The businesses include luxury shops, tech outlets, pharmacies, and even bakeries.
The protest took place in multiple cities, including Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and more.
While France is known for its history of protests, during this particular one, the city was badly damaged, with businesses, monuments, and streets as the main targets being vandalized and even set on fire.
The movement began last month, with students raising awareness of conditions in schools, and the focus later escalated to the rising cost of living.
