Fake firewood company scam impersonating Tarn carpenter near Albi, Digi Mart USA News (Cambon, Tarn, France): “They are making me out to be a thief when I have never sold wood in my life.” At 58, Christian Cot still cannot believe what is happening. In his workshop in Cambon, this carpenter, who has been established in the Tarn for 25 years, is trying to understand how his identity ended up at the center of a scam that has reportedly trapped dozens of consumers.
His company, Bois Passion, has nothing to do with the affair. It is the victim.
The alarm was raised on Sunday, November 1, by the Cambon town hall on Facebook. Since then, Mayor Philippe Granier has been receiving calls from across France.
“A forger used Mr. Cot’s identity through the website boispascher-france.com.
They copied his SIRET number and make it appear that he sells firewood. The address listed, at the locality Le Bois in Cambon, does not even exist!”
The trap is very well built. On boispascher-france.com, almost nothing suggests a scam.
The presentation is polished, promoting French wood, logs, pellets, free delivery and especially prices that defy all competition. The site claims “the best wood at the best price” and says it offers “dry French wood, delivered to your door at no cost.” To reassure buyers, it displays 3,512 reviews and a rating of 4.7 out of 5.
The site is reportedly generated using artificial intelligence.
Malik, 52, from Île-de-France, was taken in. “When I searched for cheap firewood, this site came up directly.
I saw nothing wrong, it is really well made. Everything seemed real.” He ordered a cubic meter of logs for 179 euros.
A message confirmed the order, but he did not receive a summary email. A few days later, he found a charge of 155 dollars on his account.
“It was when I saw the payment in dollars that I understood I had been fooled. I contacted my bank to dispute it, but it was too late.”
Malik is not alone. In Gard, Creuse and Burgundy, more than fifty people reportedly attempted to order from the site.
Some paid, while others fortunately detected the irregularities in time. Yvan, a 44-year-old from Gard, checked the SIRET number.
“179 euros against 300 euros everywhere else, it was too good to be true. The site was well made and did not raise my suspicions.
It was when I checked the SIRET number that I saw it was partly false. Only the last five digits differ from that of the Tarn carpenter.”
Another irregularity appeared at checkout: the bank details provided belonged to a private individual in France named Julien, not to a company. Yvan then gave up on the transfer.
He also tried to call the number beginning with 01 displayed on the site. The number was assigned but went directly to an answering machine where no message could be left.
For Christian Cot, the nightmare has lasted since early October. A journeyman originally from Perpignan, he says his daily life has been upended by a matter beyond his control.
“My phone never stops ringing. People who placed orders ask me where the delivery is, because they are waiting for their wood.
That is when I explain to them that I am the victim of identity theft. I am totally powerless.
I am two years from retirement, I have never sold wood in my life, and I find myself in a difficult situation… I am truly sorry for the people who were taken in.”
The carpenter has since filed a complaint with the gendarmerie. With each new call, he also files a report on SignalConso, an attempt to alert authorities and limit damage to his business, whose name continues to be associated with the fraud.
Consumers are urged to remain cautious. For a first purchase from a seller, it is best to avoid paying before delivery.
Distance should also raise suspicion: according to the 2025 Observatoire Bois Bûche, 80% of legitimate deliveries take place within 30 kilometers of the company’s headquarters.
