Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many scams have flourished on the internet. Last March, seven online sales sites for protective masks, hydroalcoholic gels or Covid-19 screening tests were closed by the Central Office for the fight against damage to the environment and public health. (Oclaesps). These fraudulent sites did not deliver their orders. 12,000 customers had been scammed and the damage had been estimated at around one million euros.
No product cures coronavirus
Faced with this phenomenon, the Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF) had warned, last April, against these scams. An alert taken up by the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, which recalls that"no product, food or not, protects or cures coronavirus". It also indicates that disinfection scams exist but that the decontamination of private homes is not planned to date by the state services.
What about Covid-19 screening kits sold on the internet? "Coronavirus screening is only done by health authorities to confirm a diagnosis. Any company or individual offering you screening is not competent in this area. The state does not offer a screening kit directly to citizens. (…) Similarly, the State or the State agencies do not offer a containment kit including mask, hydroalcoholic gel, thermometer or other medical equipment ".
It also warns against a particularly common scam: phishing, smishing or phishing, techniques which allow usurping the identity of a company or an administration. "The principle is to send emails or SMS related to the coronavirus epidemic by encouraging the consumer to click on a link or to call a premium rate number, in order to obtain personal data, in particular bank or transfer silver".
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