A study shows that many French people still fall for scams easily.
Prevention and vigilance messages abound, and yet, some people still get caught. If digital technology has the ability to connect the entire world in a few clicks, it is also a predatory space for scammers, ready for the most elaborate tricks to steal money. While more and more French people manage to perceive the scam in time and not get trapped, the proportion of people who still cannot distinguish a real ad from a fake one is still significant. To the point of losing money that we never see again.
This is what emerges from a survey conducted by the Ipsos* institute on behalf of “Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr”, a government agency providing assistance and prevention in cybersecurity. Unveiled this Thursday, September 12, the results (based on 3,100 responses) show that even if 6 out of 10 French people say they are well informed about the risks of the Internet, the constant innovations in terms of scams can quickly make them fall into the trap.
The latest “new things”, deepfakes (video or audio recordings made or modified using artificial intelligence) and ransomware (software that blocks access to the computer in exchange for payment) are only known to 30% of the population and only 7% are aware of smishing, the very widespread scam of fake SMS asking to pay a fine or warning of a direct debit falsely refused by the bank.
Although the terms are not always well known to the population, 85% of French people say they always do checks before buying online, to ensure they are not the victim of a scam. Despite this vigilance, the “old tricks” on the phone, such as that of the fake bank advisor, continue to affect some French people, with 20% of those surveyed having been confronted with this problem. Above all, the survey shows that 22% of those surveyed, or just under a quarter, have already lost money because of a scam they suffered during the year.
Cybermoi/s, a month of prevention
Faced with this phenomenon and “despite an apparent knowledge of the risks and good practices”, as Jérôme Notin, general director of Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, points out, “this survey demonstrates more than ever the need to raise awareness among the younger generations who seem particularly exposed.” The organization is launching on 1er October 12e edition of its Cybermoi/s during which numerous awareness-raising actions on the dangers of scams will be carried out by more than 1000 participating entities.
Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr is offering many highlights throughout the month of October, including a #CyberEngagés citizen action to enable everyone to get involved. Starting on October 1, for the launch of Cybermoi/s, everyone is invited to take part on social networks, in particular by posting the cyber advice of their choice. A Cybermoi/s launch event to mobilize all audiences is also scheduled at the National Assembly on Wednesday, October 2 in the afternoon. It will be broadcast live on the Cybermoi/s website.
Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr will also present its new edition of the Cyber Quiz, based on the educational support of the Cyber Guide Famille from October 1st, as well as new Consomags films in partnership with the INC. An operation aimed at VSEs-SMEs, ImpactCyber, is also planned to convince them to secure themselves upstream based on a study assessing the level of cyber maturity of companies, an awareness campaign and a cybersecurity reminder for managers.
*Ipsos.Digital study carried out for Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr from July 2 to August 12 on a sample of
3100 French people aged 18 to 75