Many policyholders have received a strange letter from Health Insurance. Contrary to what one might believe, this is not an attempt at fraud, you absolutely must respond!
Scams, fraud and identity theft of all kinds are multiplying across the four corners of France and are becoming more and more ingenious. As a result, we are constantly on guard when we receive an SMS, an email or a letter. Recently, as reported by 60 million consumers, some policyholders received a strange letter to say the least from the Primary Health Insurance Fund (CPAM). “As part of our periodic checks, we need to verify that the conditions of stability and regularity of your stay in France are met”, they could read. A funny wording to address people of French nationality. This is all the more suspicious since, under penalty of pure and simple suspension of support, “you must send us this letter and a photocopy of your residence permit or document.” The signature of the letter did not fail to reinforce distrust since, whatever the CPAM, it was signed “Ameli Martin, your Health Insurance correspondent”.
These strange formulations quickly aroused the concern and indignation of certain policyholders. Not to mention that they are reminiscent of certain social engineering techniques used for phishing attempts, such as the sense of urgency. In addition, it is rare to have to send so many confidential documents, such as copies of identity cards, tax notices and pay slips, while the CPAM has the possibility of verifying this information with Tax Administration. In short, plenty of reason to believe it was an attempted scam.
However, this is not the case! If Health Insurance actually looks every year at the tax residence of its beneficiaries and uses other information shared with administrations (France Travail, the National Old Age Insurance Fund, the Ministry of the Interior, etc.), the computer processing does not work every time. If the employer makes a mistake, for example, she is obliged to obtain the information directly from the insured. As for the mysterious “Ameli Martin”, it is nothing more and nothing less than a computer error.
Health Insurance claims to have since modified its mail, particularly regarding the famous “stay” document. As for the signature problem, it is also supposed to be resolved, even if letters of this type have been sent almost everywhere in France as part of the fight against fraud. If you receive one, do what is asked in order to maintain your rights. And if you have the slightest doubt, it is better to contact the CPAM directly by telephone.