Beware of Crit'Air sticker scams.

The gradual introduction of low-emission zones (ZFE) is forcing more and more French people to order their sticker on the Internet.

Sniffing out the vein, crooks have been multiplying SMS or fraudulent sites for several months to extract their bank details from victims, police alert Monday.

If the "Crit'Air" sticker scam has existed since its beginnings in 2017 in Paris, it has particularly developed since the end of 2022.


“Over the two years 2020 and 2021, 43 facts were reported against 56 for 2022, including 38 between July and December”, underlines William Hippert, head of the Organized Crime Strategic Analysis Service (Sirasco), attached to the management Central Judicial Police (DCPJ).

“Statistics undoubtedly below reality but which show an acceleration”, underlines the commissioner.

Two operating modes

Two operating modes were observed.

The first consists of creating a well-referenced fake website using the visual codes and layout of the real official website (www.certificat-air.gouv.fr), on which potential victims are invited to provide their bank details.

The second uses the technique of "phishing" (phishing) by SMS or email from illegally constituted databases to direct the victim to the fraudulent site.

“Sometimes, after a first call, the scammer calls the victim pretending to be his banker who has come to warn him that he has been defrauded and asks him for access to his accounts to supposedly cancel the transaction”, explains William Hippert.

At the end of 2022, one person transferred 10,700 euros to an account in Spain, another 3,000 euros in Lithuania.

The Crit'Air sticker, which costs 3.72 euros, "can only be obtained on the government site and there is never any question of asking for any bank details", recalls the commissioner.

Company

Nice: Crit'Air vignettes will not be checked in the city center, assures the town hall

Paris

Grand Paris: Nearly 1,400 fines linked to the Crit'Air sticker since 2021

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