A new scam targets Free subscribers by claiming reactivation fees to pay and inviting them to update their subscription. A phishing attempt intended to steal their data!
As we know, telecom operators are often the target of scammers, who seek to recover personal information (telephone number, identifiers, passwords, etc.) from their subscribers to set up new scams, as well as to take their banking details. And it’s Free’s customers’ turn to pay the price! Several Freebox and Free Mobile subscribers received a message in their mailbox entitled “Your Free contract” asking them to pay reactivation fees in order to continue to benefit from the operator’s services without interruption, accompanied by a link allowing them to to renew their subscription. As you can imagine, this is a phishing attempt, and the link actually refers to a corrupted page intended to steal all your data!
Free reactivation fee: a crude phishing attempt
The email is quite convincing and uses the logo as well as the usual Free layout. “To continue to benefit from our services without interruption, a fee for reactivating your contract will be applied to your subscription. This is required to avoid any unexpected suspension of your subscriptions and your services associated with your Free line”, we can read. Why would there be a need for reactivation? The message does not indicate that. “We invite you to update your subscription now by clicking on the button below” then sends the email. Already, you may notice many spelling and grammatical errors which should alert you. Then, this type of fee does not exist and the link provided by the button leads to a site with a questionable URL.
If you are a Free customer, pay close attention to the content of the messages you receive at the moment, even when everything seems normal. You should always be wary of emails containing a link, even when they appear official, and go directly to the site. Scrutinize the sender and URL of the link for suspicious signs, and be careful to look out for the slightest spelling mistake, which could tip you off.
If you are ever the target of an online or SMS scam, forward the message to Signal Spam immediately, Pharos or directly to 33,700, the platform specializing in reporting scams. 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.