An EPML DE Internet charge on your bank or credit card statement is an online ticket purchase from the Louvre Museum in Paris. EPML stands for Établissement Public du Musée du Louvre, the French public institution that runs the Louvre, and “DE INTERNET” means the transaction went through the museum’s web ticketing system.1Musée du Louvre. Nos Missions If you or someone on your account bought Louvre tickets recently, the charge is almost certainly legitimate. If not, treat it as a likely fraudulent card use and dispute it with your issuer.
What the Descriptor Actually Says
The Louvre processes online ticket sales through a payment gateway called Paybox.2Musée du Louvre. Is My Payment Secure The string of digits that sometimes trails the descriptor on your statement (for example, “2333280”) is a reference number generated by that gateway, not an order number you can look up on your own.
Around 90 percent of Louvre tickets are now bought online, which puts this descriptor on millions of statements worldwide each year.3Associated Press. Louvre Official Says Fraud Inevitable at Large Museums The museum drew 8.7 million visitors in 2024, 77 percent of them from outside France, with Americans the single largest national group.4Musée du Louvre. 8.7 Million Visitors to the Louvre in 2024 A lot of U.S. cardholders see this line item every year.
Does the Amount Match a Real Ticket?
As of early 2026, general admission is €22 for residents of the European Economic Area and €32 for visitors from outside the EEA.5Musée du Louvre. Hours and Admission Audio guides add €6, and guided tours or workshops add another €9 to €12 on top of admission.
Because the merchant charges in euros, your bank will likely add a foreign transaction fee of 1 to 3 percent unless your card waives it.6Bankrate. A Guide to Foreign Transaction Fees A €22 ticket can land on a U.S. statement at roughly $24 to $26 depending on the exchange rate and the fee. If the amount you see lines up with one of these prices, check with anyone who shares the card. Advance booking is mandatory at the Louvre, so a family member may have reserved tickets days or weeks before the charge posted.7Musée du Louvre. Tickets and Prices FAQ
Why the Charge Appears When You Never Bought Anything
Cardholders with no connection to Paris regularly see this descriptor. Reported patterns include small-value test charges, multiple attempts in quick succession, and transactions on cards that were already lost or deactivated.8WhatsThatCharge. EPML DE INTERNET2333280 Reported amounts in those cases range from under €20 to more than $500.
The museum has acknowledged the problem. Kim Pham, the Louvre’s general administrator, said fraudulent purchases with stolen cards occurred “massively” in 2023 and remain a serious concern.3Associated Press. Louvre Official Says Fraud Inevitable at Large Museums The museum caps daily visitors at 30,000, and that scarcity makes Louvre tickets attractive to resellers.9Cour des comptes. Public Establishment of the Louvre Museum Summary Criminals buy tickets with stolen card numbers and resell them, often to tourists waiting outside the entrance.
How To Tell Whether the Charge Is Yours
Before disputing, do a short check.
- Search your email for a Louvre booking confirmation, including spam and junk folders.
- Ask any authorized users on the account whether they bought tickets.
- Compare dates loosely. A post date can lag the actual transaction by 48 to 72 hours, so the purchase may have happened earlier that week.
- Compare the amount to the published ticket prices above, keeping foreign transaction fees in mind.
If nothing matches, treat the charge as unauthorized.
How To Dispute an Unauthorized Charge
For a U.S. cardholder, the dispute is really between you and your card issuer, not between you and the museum. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your liability for unauthorized credit card charges is capped at $50, and most issuers voluntarily make it zero.10Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
To preserve your full rights, send a written dispute to your card issuer’s billing-inquiries address within 60 days of the statement date on which the charge first appeared. Include your name, account number, the charge amount and date, and a short explanation that you did not authorize the transaction. Certified mail gives you proof of delivery. The issuer must acknowledge the dispute within 30 days and resolve it within 90 days. While the investigation is open, you can withhold payment on the disputed amount, and the issuer cannot report you as delinquent or restrict the account over it.
You can also notify the Louvre’s ticketing team, though they will not refund money that was taken through card fraud; that recovery runs through your bank. The museum’s ticketing support is reachable by its online form or by mail at Musée du Louvre, Assistance Billetterie, 75058 Paris Cedex 01, France. Its general inquiry number is +33 (0)1 40 20 53 17.11Musée du Louvre. Contact the Musée du Louvre About Ticketing After filing the dispute, replace the card. If a thief used it once at the Louvre, the number is already in circulation.
If the Charge Is Yours: Fees and Currency
Even a legitimate Louvre purchase may not match the euro price you expected. Most U.S. credit cards add a foreign transaction fee of 1 to 3 percent on purchases processed in a non-U.S. currency, and that applies to online purchases from foreign merchants just as it does to in-person transactions abroad.6Bankrate. A Guide to Foreign Transaction Fees Some issuers, including Capital One and Discover, charge no foreign transaction fee.
If checkout offered to bill you in U.S. dollars instead of euros, that is dynamic currency conversion. The exchange rate applied is usually less favorable than your card network’s rate, and your issuer may still add a foreign transaction fee on top of it. Paying in euros generally produces a better overall rate.