How to deal with digital scams?
Public authorities and digital technicians have set up several reporting platforms with the multiplication of cases of Spam, phishing and scams on the net. Between unwanted advertising messages and dubious emails, the government has decided to act against this great scourge.
In this section:
How do you know it's an electronic scam?
In general, in a case of scam on the net, the criminal approaches you on your e-mail or on your telephone in order to lure you. The fraudster then tries to appease you by promising you substantial sums. Some also offer intermediary services to lead you to redirect you to a dubious and fictitious site or service.
Others will even ask you to recover a gain or an inheritance by means of a transfer service or other, paying. Their goal is to give you confidence so that you are then tempted to communicate your details to them or even send them sensitive information and even money.
Phishing is a more complex form of scam. The hacker or phisher will pretend to be a known organization. Using the name and logo of the institution, he will send you an email asking you to update your information on the organization's site, which is a perfect replica of the original. By giving your information, the phisher will use it to harm you.
How to react to these cases of embezzlement?
If you receive spam or if the message you received does not inspire confidence, do not reply. Report it immediately to the "Signal Spam" platform and do not touch the attachments. Registration on this type of platform is free. Once registered, be sure to download an extension for your email software and then report with one click. Your report will contribute to actions against spammers at the national level. Note that each report will be forwarded to a CNIL investigation service. These signals will then give the possibility of opening a criminal investigation under the authority of a prosecutor.
What should I do if I receive unwanted SMS or MMS messages?
An SMS alert system has also been made available to consumers. In case of abusive SMS, users are asked to forward the message to a toll-free number. Once the alert is triggered, you will receive a message asking for the sender's phone number. This information will then be transmitted to all operators and will lead to an investigation. Just like reporting by email, the transfer of unsolicited SMS or MMS is free.
