For several weeks, many French people have received this SMS which seemed official. But, in reality, it was a decoy…
Playing on the urgency of the request is the method used by most scammers these days to put pressure on you and prevent you from thinking too much. The SMS which has been circulating since the end of May to the attention of customers of a French bank is the perfect example. When reading it, it immediately appeals. The message indicates that a security update has been performed and customer action is required. “In order to maintain access to our services, please identify yourself”, can we read. At first glance, there is nothing suspicious, no spelling mistakes and the sender appears to be the person’s banking institution.
With these elements in mind, anyone would have the reflex to act to maintain the security of their bank accounts. Except that by acting quickly, without taking the time to think, very often, this is where we can make mistakes, which can sometimes be irrecoverable. This is what happened recently for many French people.
In fact, for several weeks, certain Société Générale customers have been fooled by this SMS. The scheme put in place by the crooks is formidable, because it is impossible to reverse once the action has been carried out. In the message, the recipient is asked to click on a link to log in to their bank account. The person is then immediately redirected to a connection interface which uses the logo, colors and words of Société Générale. Everything is done to fool the customer and give them confidence.
Especially since once the bank identifiers have been entered, he must click on “Validate” which this time opens the home page of the real bank site. From there, there is no point trying to go back to the previous step to verify the legitimacy of the platform, because this is impossible. The scammers got what they wanted: your banking ID and PIN so they could empty your accounts. If you have been a victim, contact your banking advisor quickly and explain the situation in detail. On its site, Société Générale also recommends always checking “the legitimacy of such a request by making a countercall to a number already referenced”, and never click on questionable links.