Scams are not limited to emails and SMS. Residents of Seine-et-Marne (77) have experienced this in recent days with false PV payable via a fraudulent QR Code. We explain to you how not to be fooled.
Cybercriminals are never out of ideas. Their latest find? Making fake tickets placed on vehicle windshields. Residents of the Seine-et-Marne department have had a cruel experience of this in recent days, to the point that the gendarmerie of 77 decided to communicate this Sunday, May 14 to warn of this fraudulent process. The technique is simple: the scammers deposit fake tickets on the windshields payable via a QR Code. Once scanned, this QR Code returns to a site that looks like two drops of water to that of the ANTAI (National Agency for Automated Offense Processing).
The amount offine 35 euros for “non-compliance with parking rules” is then indicated to the victim, who is then invited to enter his personal data as well as his bank card number to pay his (fake) fine. If the victim did not realize the scam (which is not easy), he is even redirected after paying to the real ANTAI site! False ticket scams are legion in France but are usually sent by email or SMS. Cybercriminals have therefore rushed into the breach of the QR Code, which is increasingly used in the daily life of the French.
And in particular to pay… fines. But if a QR Code appears on the documents sent by mail to pay your PV, you must always go through the official site amendes.gouv.fr before making the payment or that of the company mandated by your city (in particular Streeteo, as in the photo above which shows a “real” PV). And more generally, it is recommended never to scan the QR Code of an unknown document. As far as communication is concerned, it is done exclusively by post. So if you soon find a fine on the windshield of your car with a QR Code to scan, beware and check the other information on the ticket. And if by misfortune you have been trapped, call your bank without wasting a minute!