Many French people have recently received a very fraudulent SMS.
“Last warning before 135 euro increase”. This message has been received by many French people recently. It is an “alert” SMS, warning that you must pay a fine quickly before it is increased and therefore costs you more. The text message even “comes” from the “Gouv”, in other words the government. At least, it appears to. The sender even includes a link to pay what you owe. Did you forget to pay your overstay? Did you not pay attention to the radar that flashed you? In your rush, it may be tempting to click on the link. You should definitely not do this!
Because like many other text messages of this kind, everything is false in this “final warning” sent. First, the National Agency for the Automated Processing of Offenses (ANTAI) – the body that centralizes the payment of fines – never sends text messages to people who have committed an offense. When this follows a so-called automated check (radar in particular) and there has been no check by the police, the fine is sent by mail, to the postal address of the vehicle owner.
From then on, the offender has up to 30 days to pay and benefit from a reduction in the amount. On the other hand, if he does not pay his due 60 days after the offense, the amount will be increased. But no reminder will be sent by SMS if the deadlines are not respected. The procedure provides that it is by letter that the State informs of the increase in the fine. It is therefore essential not to take into account the supposed SMS urging you to pay quickly.
Furthermore, to avoid being scammed, two things need to be checked when receiving the SMS: the phone number and the link included in the message. In our case, the text message is sent from a 06, a completely traditional number. However, official messages do not come from this type of number. Furthermore, the link indicated does not correspond at all to the website for paying fines. The only official and secure one that exists is the following: https://www.amendes.gouv.fr/. Receiving a completely different link therefore indicates that the message is fraudulent.