2024-10-02 09:40:14
Many French people have recently received this deceptive message and many have almost become trapped.
This article is republished as part of a partnership with Cybermoi/sevent organized by Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr to raise awareness of cybersecurity issues.
“I almost did something stupid!” Sylvianne (First name changed) still blame yourself. A few days ago, this 60-year-old received an SMS informing him that his health card was about to expire. Worried about seeing your green paper become invalid, you click on the link provided and, you believe, renew it. Without thinking, by admitting himself, “because I need my health card to go to the optician to change my glasses.”
Faced with the “urgency” of the situation, he began to fill out the form: name, first name, postal address and telephone number on the first page. A minute asks you to choose the method of sending the document: with La Poste, with collection within 3 or 5 days for 95 cents, or with Chronopost to receive in 2 days for 1.90 euros. The page to “continue with payment” will then appear. It was at that moment that this resident of southern France realized the plot: “Carte Vitale is freedom,” he said to himself. Even shipping.
Then you have the urge to close the internet page, even if you have started to write down your bank card numbers. Good luck to him: as he didn’t approve, he avoided giving his bank details to a fraudster.
© Maxime Gil / Linternaute
Because in fact, this message received by Sylvianne, as by thousands of other French people in recent days, is actually fake (see photo). But how can you see it easily when the words “AMELI” are clearly visible? The first rule to know is simple: the Vitale card has no expiration date. Unlike a bank card, it is valid for life. If updates need to be made, the doctor or pharmacist can do them directly.
Also, social security does not send SMS for your bank card number. Also, if the link is in the SMS, it must start with “ameli.fr/”. If this is not the case, it is a fake site that will scam you. You should definitely not type and, even less, fill in and fill out any form. Also note that the “news” at the bottom of the page is often not from the correct year and spelling errors are left. “Send” for example, in this case, instead of “Send”.
Anyone who clicks on the link and completes the process is exposed to fraudulent use of their bank account. As scammers have access to your data, they can then use it to extract money directly from you. So you must cancel your card if the form is completely completed.
While this type of scam is common and there are many alerts on the subject, prevention must also be done to avoid unpleasant surprises, although they continue to happen, unnecessarily.
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