This type of scam is known, but hackers are currently trying to recover tax information through a fake website and SMS sending. A few days before the end of the paper declaration period, the phishing campaign gained in intensity.
Rather than recovering bank details directly, hackers seek to take control of individuals’ accounts on the tax administration site.
Pirates take advantage of taxes to improve their strategy
On June 8, the tax return period will be closed for everyone. The third zone will have reached its deadline, and we will be finished for this year. A period obviously conducive to fraud attempts and the implementation of phishing techniques. After the many SMS (smishing) trying to recover our information on the pretext of a parcel delivery, now the crooks are attacking taxes.
The maneuver takes place almost every year, and has increased in recent years with the switch to online procedures. In this case, the potential victims receive an SMS from a number starting with 06, which should already alert a good part of the targeted people. In this SMS, hackers pretend to be the General Directorate of Public Finance, and use the pretext of an emergency to encourage victims to click on an obviously malicious link.
“ DGFIP alert: For security reasons, please confirm your mobile phone number before 05/27/2023. Go directly to Impots-2023.com”.
By going to this page, we realize that it imitates very well the identification page of the real site, impots.gouv.fr. We then ask for the 13-digit tax number and then the password, and things don’t stop there, since once “identified”, victims are asked to enter their telephone number and a two-digit regional code. figures. This done, and this is where the operation is particularly vicious, the page redirects people to the authentic tax site. From there, the trap was definitely closed.
A propitious period and deep intrusions
Reporting periods are, like the end-of-year holidays, particularly targeted by scammers. With the democratization of smartphones over the past 15 years, strategies have evolved to imitate real web pages and fool even more people. A simple ignorance of the official procedure and the fear of having missed something often cause the most fragile to fall into the clutches of pirates.
” They are currently acting in small successive bursts of SMS because it is the time of year in the midst of the declaration campaign when we exchange the most with the tax authorities. “, says Jean-Jacques Latour, expert at cybermalveillance.gouv.fr
But where, often, the latter seek to obtain an immediate transfer or bank details, those who interest us seek to take control of the account. From there, they can edit banking information, resell access to other hackers, or edit online statements to get tax credit refunds.
There is still a glimmer of hope in the fact that the consultation of the official pages dedicated to online scams has experienced a big spike in recent weeks. Be that as it may, be vigilant and don’t hesitate to ask your most vulnerable loved ones if they haven’t received this type of text message.
Source : The Parisian
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