Available since January 16, the fuel allowance was quickly seen as an opportunity for scammers, who try to rip off the many claimants.
The discount at the pump ended on December 31, 2022, replaced for a fortnight by the fuel allowance. This takes the form of aid of 100 euros to which the 10 million most modest people using their car or two-wheeler to go to work can claim. Unsurprisingly, this aid is the subject of a fraudulent SMS campaign by which scammers try to defraud the least informed workers.
A classic phishing technique to trick victims
The process is often the same. The targeted person receives a phishing text message that allegedly comes from the tax authorities. Except that of course, this is a public finance impersonation. The goal is always the same: to convince the victim that he has been contacted by the tax department by playing on the urgency of the situation as a psychological springboard to extract bank and personal data from him, often by making him click on a link. .
But SMS is not the only tool used to trick victims. Fraudulent websites have also been spotted by the tax services. Some refer Internet users to premium rate telephone numbers, explains Bercy, to supposedly join their public finance center. This is an opportunity to remember that the different centers only have non-surcharged numbers.
Crit’Air sticker, fuel allowance… All opportunities are good
A few days ago, we were already alerting you to Clubic about the proliferation of Crit’Air sticker scams which are spreading as French cities set up low emission zones (ZFE), and therefore the number of potential victims increases. Scammers have become accustomed to bouncing on every “phenomenon” such as obligation, help, information and others that directly affect consumers.
Regarding the fuel allowance, keep in mind that any solicitation from outside should not be taken seriously. ” The General Directorate of Public Finance does not send SMS to promote the fuel allowance “, we read on the site of the taxes.
In addition to this, the beneficiary must make the request himself, and this, in a mandatory way, by going to the tax site via the ict.impots.gouv.fr platform. On the latter, you are asked to provide, in particular, your surname, first name, email address, tax number and registration number.
Source : The government
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