Finance

Financial, medical, fraudulent message scams: the signals that should alert you

You are asked to sign a form for information on an investment (to feed the database). Or, you are approached by a company that you have never contacted. Maybe the number of your interlocutor changes regularly.

Very frequently, crooks try to recover your personal data by sending you a fake email or SMS announcing that you will receive a refund from taxes,  from your bank… Warning! It is a scammers’ technique to hack your bank account, medical tech thievery, bogus medical treatment, or phishing scam very popular these days.

Phishing: a well-established technique

Phishing involves sending a fraudulent message to the consumer. It could be as an administration, bank or another establishment, to retrieve personal data: bank account number, bank card number, confidential code, etc. When the individual provides these given to the fraudster, the stolen information is used to make fraudulent payments.

 After the final calculations of your health insurance, we have determined that you are eligible for reimbursement”. This message invites you to provide your bank details by clicking on the link inserted in the email or in the SMS, for example, “Click here to update your data”.

To get around this scam, do not click on the link provided. If in doubt, go to the site of the administration, the bank or any other body that would be the author of the information request by entering the site address.

The fraudster can also pose as a regulator. Supposed to claim money to help you settle your dispute with a provider. Or for your employer, who is supposed to instruct you to transfer a certain amount to a bank account. And look for email addresses that look like the addresses of loved ones asking you for money to rescue them!

Ecommerce scam

Another practice used by fraudsters is the parcel scam. They ask you by text message to pay a few euros for the postage of a parcel. A link inserted in the message sends to an interface resembling an official delivery service site. In reality, after giving your bank details to pay those few euros, you will be withdrawn each month from a much larger amount, without any consideration.

Our advice to protect yourself

  • Here are some tips to follow when you receive a fraudulent message:
  • Do not reply to the fraudulent message or email;
  • Never give out your data, your account number or credit card number;
  • Do not click on the link in the email and do not open the attachments;
  • If in doubt, contact the organization concerned directly by telephone

You have replied to a fraudulent message: tips for responding.

  • If you have communicated your bank account number, credit card number or any other personal data following a fraudulent message, react quickly:
  • Oppose your bank very quickly, in the event of fraudulent debits from your account following the use of your bank card;
  • Change your passwords and access codes to the affected sites. If necessary, ask the site for a new confidential code;
  • If you have sent a copy of your identity document, passport or driving license, file a complaint with the gendarmerie or the police station;
  • Report the scam on the official portal for reporting illegal content on the Internet.

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