33 700, the platform to combat unwanted calls and SMS, has a new look with simpler tools. You can now make reports with a mobile screenshot or web form.
Online savings and credits, fake unpaid fines, retirement, Netflix, vital card, taxes… Scammers use all means and all possible reasons when it comes to taking your money! And for this, they love to send fraudulent SMS or emails to their potential victims, in which they encourage them to click on a link or call a premium rate number. To combat all these fraud attempts, there are several means, such as the Signal Spam platform or that of the Pharos Government. Another solution, too little known but very useful: 33 700. This is a number developed by the French Association for the Development of Multi-Operator Multimedia Services and Uses (af2m) in 2008 to allow consumers to report unwanted calls and text messages. To simplify the reporting process and make it more complete, the association announced several new features on April 25.
33,700: new reporting methods
The principle of 33 700 is simple: when you receive spam or an unwanted call, you forward it to this number without any comment. You will then receive a message inviting you to complete your report, by providing the sender’s number, the date and time of receipt of the SMS or call. Note that the number is completely free. Pursue “the evolution of mobile uses of the population”you now have two new channels: by screenshot and by web form (telephone number, sender name or number, message content, etc.), on the platform www.33700.fr. Moreover, the site is also taking the opportunity to get a makeover.
The reports made are sent every day to the operators, who, after having carried out analyzes to qualify the fraud, take action accordingly. In particular, they can disconnect the number at the origin of the fraud attempt. Reporting scams on 33,700 protects you, but also others.
In 2023, the number of reports to 33,700 will explode, from 2.2 million in 2022 to 3.4 million. In January 2024 alone, af2m recorded 291,000. “Not all reports correspond to fraud (delivery notifications, promotional messages, customer services) but show consumer confusion between legitimate and worrying messages”however, qualifies the association.
If you are ever the target of an online or SMS scam, immediately forward the message to 33 700, but also to Signal Spam and Pharos. You can also report these fraudulent messages to the site internet-signalement.gouv.fr. Then block the sender’s number to no longer be bothered and delete the message in question. If necessary, you can also consult the website www.cybermalveillance.gouv.frwhich will remind you of the main precautionary measures to adopt when dealing with fraudulent SMS messages.