The French government has issued a warning over a series of new scams aimed at tricking residents out of money through supposedly legitimate communication from Assurance Maladie or other public services.
Scammers are contacting people by email or text, often claiming that you have a carte Vitale reimbursement waiting to be validated or that you need to transfer the delivery fees for a new card, Service-public.fr states.
The government has also warned of fraudulent activity surrounding workers’ Comptes personnels de formation (CPF), reminding users that their real account will only ever be accessible through moncompteformation.gouv.fr and that they should never share their social security number or password with anyone else.
It also encourages people to be wary of job adverts with offers which appear too good to be true. These job ads are presumably there to collect your personal information.
Residents who are expecting to receive their prime de Noël Christmas bonus payments from the Caisse d’allocations familiales (CAF) or Pôle emploi should also be vigilant, as messages appearing to be from these public bodies could in fact be part of a phishing scam.
Phishing is a type of fraud through which scammers seek to obtain people’s personal information by tricking them into sharing their details voluntarily.
The CAF has reported a rise in instances of phishing and identity theft in recent weeks.
How can I avoid these scams?
If you receive a message and believe that…
