Scammers are currently usurping the identity of the DGCCRF to defraud their victims by informing them of false fraudulent transactions. This is obviously a way to extract money from them.

Scammers are currently usurping the identity of the DGCCRF to defraud their victims by informing them of false fraudulent transactions. This is obviously a way to extract money from them.

Scammers will stop at nothing to trap their victims, including impersonating official institutions. To be as effective as possible, they practice what is called vishing – the contraction of “voice” and “phishing” –, a technique which consists of contacting the victim by telephone while pretending to be an organization or body. And it’s extremely effective! What could be better than having your victims online to manipulate them and get them to give them, in complete confidence, the confidential codes of their bank account and other sensitive personal information?

In recent years, scams of this type have multiplied, with scammers not hesitating to pose as banking advisors, or even agents of the Banque de France (see our article). This is quite simply one of the most profitable remote scams – especially since it is carried out at low cost. This time, it is the Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression (DGCCRF) who is a victim of identity theft. Scammers are in fact posing as agents of the French administration, by contacting citizens using SMS messages or fraudulent telephone calls.

DGCCRF scam: watch out for identity theft

To succeed, scammers use social engineering methods, which take advantage of their target’s feelings, such as fear and anxiety. They will do everything to arouse these emotions in order to obscure his ability to judge and gain his trust. They create the feeling that it is absolutely necessary to act quickly so as not to give them time to analyze the situation and use their critical thinking. In order to make their story credible, they go so far as to ensure that the number displayed on the victim’s smartphone is indeed that of Fraud Repression, namely 0890 540 550.

The technique is simple. The scammers pretend to be an agent of the DGCCRF or the ResponseConso service and tell their target that someone is using their bank card without their knowledge in order to make purchases, or that it has been “identified” – which is obviously false. They then list bank card numbers so she can give hers. She may also receive an SMS from the “fraud department” informing her that a bank card payment of €XXX is in progress, and that she must contact a non-premium rate number urgently. To put more pressure on him, they take care to specify that this must be done within 45 minutes maximum, otherwise the payment will be validated. As the victim panics and finds themselves pressed by the situation, they end up falling into the trap and providing their personal and especially banking information, or even validating transactions themselves.

This is actually what happens in one of the variants. The scammer, who always poses as an agent of the French administration, explains to his victim that his bank card was used abroad – often in a border country, such as Spain – and that, to block this purchase, she needs the code that she has just received by SMS. Code which, in reality, allows the purchase to be validated… It can also notify them that fraud is in progress on their bank account and suggest that they cancel the transaction by connecting to their personal banking space. In reality, the person validates operations in favor of the usurper…

DGCCRF scam: always stay on your guard!

Keep in mind that Fraud Repression or the ResponseConso service will never contact you in this way, and even less will they ask you for a code, your bank card number or to carry out any operation. Moreover, they will never take the initiative to contact anyone who has never requested them beforehand.

If you have already shared your personal and banking information by telephone or you suspect that you have been the victim of an attempted fraud, you must immediately cancel your bank card and change the passwords which allow access to your accounts. Also notify your bank to block transactions or report those that have already been made. Finally, file a complaint online and report the facts on the platform Percevalwhich belongs to the Ministry of the Interior.