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Warning: 6 of the most common scams in France to watch out for

From computer hacking to phone calls, a new report reveals that scams and frauds are unfortunately on the rise in France and the criminals are getting more sophisticated - here are some of the most common frauds to be aware of.

Warning: 6 of the most common scams in France to watch out for
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

France’s fraud and financial crime watchdog, Tracfin, has published its annual report, indicating that fraudulent activity has become both more frequent and more evolved in the last year.

The report highlighted the most significant forms of fraud tracked by the watchdog. In particular, it found that CPF (Compte Personnel de Formation) scams represented a significant proportion of the fraudulent activity registered this year. 

These are the scams the report highlighted:

The CPF scam: The Compte Personnel de Formation is available to all employees in France. Essentially, they are given access to money each year for free professional training (€800 for unskilled workers, €500 for full-time, skilled workers).

This is a real, government-backed scheme with a genuine website and app – it’s particularly useful for foreigners in France because the money can be used for French classes. Here’s how it works.

Unfortunately, however, the name is frequently used by scammers and Tracfin director Guillaume Valette-Valla warned that these scams have become more professional, often now involving transnational criminal organisations, particularly those located outside the EU, as well as shell companies that exist to siphon off the public money.

A lot of these scams involve SMS messages and phone calls warning people that they would lose their allowance and urging them to sign up to training courses have become increasingly frequent. These messages often contain fraudulent links asking recipients to enter their personal details onto dodgy websites.

The presence of CPF shell companies dramatically increased in 2021, according to the report. Tracfin received 116 reports of suspicion of shell companies, which is a significant increase from the 10 reported in 2020. 

For CPF fraud overall, the scams racked in accounted for over €43.2 million compared to €7.8 million a year earlier.

READ MORE: Beyond the scams: How to use France’s €500 training budget

The carte vitale scam – if you live in France your carte vitale is a vital document, allowing you to access publicly funded healthcare.

An increasingly common scam is sending a text message or email telling a person that their carte vitale is about to expire, and to click on the link and enter their details to keep it active. This is a scam, the carte vitale does not expire. If you need to make any changes to your card or request a new one if you have lost of stolen it, use your online Ameli account or visit your local CPAM office.

Driving scams – summer is the time of year when thousands of people – both locals and tourists – take to the roads for a trip away, and scammers often prey on drivers.

Some scammers operate at service stations, approaching non-French drivers and spinning them a sob story to try and extort money, while others operate insurance scams by pretending that you have damaged their car. There are also sporadic reports of ‘fake cops’ who try to issue on-the-spot cash fines to cars with foreign number plates.

Driving in France: The common scams thieves try on foreign motorists

Postal scams – it’s a very common experience to get a message from La Poste or a parcel courier telling you that you were out when they tried to deliver a package. Usually you will just need to arrange another time or head to the post office, but beware of text messages or emails telling you that there are outstanding charges for a parcel, with a link to enter your card details.

Couriers do not operate like this and if there are any outstanding postage or customs charges, you pay them in person not via a link in an email or SMS.

Ransomware attacks – France also saw a rise in ransomware attacks – particularly those targeting small businesses.

In 2021, the French National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI) handled 203 ransomware attacks, compared to 192 in 2020 and 69 in 2019. This represents an increase of 194 percent increase in incidents handled in two years. These attacks were predominantly (over 52 percent) targeted at very small, small and medium-sized businesses.

Ransomware attacks are on the rise for two reasons: a lack of digital literacy and security, and an increased specialisation and professionalisation of the criminal ecosystem.

Fraud on government schemes: Tracfin also noted a rise in fraudulent declarations for government schemes, particularly those made available as emergency responses to the Covid-19 crisis.

These were mostly represented by misuse of compensation for short-time work, emergency aid for companies, self-employed people and business owners, and state-guaranteed loans.

Looking forward – the report also warned how NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) could constitute an additional fraud and cybersecurity risk for people across the country.

So far, Tracfin has received reports of scams involving NFTs whose value has been artificially increased (“pump and dump”), NFTs copying or plagiarizing original works without having the copyright or simply fake NFTs that disappear once they are downloaded from a fraudulent website. The watchdog also highlighted that NFTs could eventually be used for tax fraud. 

On top of tracking scams within France, Tracfin was also involved in tracking down the assets of Russian oligarchs after sanctions against Moscow went into place following the invasion of Ukraine, estimating that €1.18 billion worth of financial and non-financial assets have been frozen in France since the beginning of the conflict.

If you are contacted by a company and you are not sure if it is genuine, the French government has compiled a ‘blacklist’ of dodgy companies that frequently try and defraud people – you can find it here.

If you think you may have fallen victim to a scam, particularly if you have shared your banking information, the first step is to contact your bank. You can learn more about what to do in this scenario, HERE

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LIVING IN FRANCE

How older people in France can get free assistance for outings

The scheme 'Sortir Plus' (Get out more) is available for some over-75s in France providing support and company for outings. Here is what you need to know and how to qualify

How older people in France can get free assistance for outings

What is it?

The programme is called Sortir Plus which translates roughly to ‘Get around more’. It aims to connect older people with a trusted person to accompany them on outings, whether that be going out on a walk, or heading to an appointment with the doctor or hairdresser, or simply going out for a meal.

The companion will be a professional, usually a home-help, and they cannot offer medical services but can provide aid, company and support on trips out.

Who can benefit?

The programme is intended for people over 75 years old who are in a ‘fragile situation’, whether that be due to isolation, age, or mobility challenges.

However, it is only available to those who worked in France in the private sector – in order to qualify, you must receive the supplementary ‘Agirc-Arrco’ pension.

You only need to have worked in France for a minimum period of three months in order to qualify, but it does not apply for former public sector employees, or to people who worked in another country and then retired to France.

What’s the Agirc-Arrco complementary pension?

Basically, France’s pension system offers a ‘base’ regime, which is what most people think of when discussing pensions. It is calculated based on the number of trimestres (quarters) you worked. 

Then there is also the ‘complementary’ regime, which works on a points system and depends on your sector. You are automatically signed up to a complementary regime when you start working in France.

READ MORE: Ask the experts: What foreigners living in France need to know about French pensions

The Agirc-Arrco complementary pension represents the vast majority of people who worked in the private sector – public sector employees have a different plan.

Similar to the ‘base’ pension system, you can qualify even if you only worked for a short period of time in France, but the amount paid out would be smaller.

If you worked in France, but you are not sure what type of ‘complementary’ pension you fall under, you can check out the website info-retraite.fr and log in using your social security number (or France Connect).

If you have worked and paid contributions for more than one trimestre in France, you will find an account set up ready for you which shows your years of contributions in France, and what pension you can expect.

The advantage of the French system is that your pension contributions are deducted automatically, even when you change jobs, and the government keeps track of it all via your social security number.

So how do I sign up for ‘Sortir Plus’?

You can start by getting in contact with an adviser by calling the phone number 0 971 090 971. You can call anytime from Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 6.30pm, excluding public holidays.

Try to call at least two days ahead of the activity you want to be accompanied to.

Then, a professional will take stock of your situation and determine whether you qualify for assistance. They will also inform you of the amount of aid you are eligible for. 

If you qualify, they will connect you with an approved professional who will come to pick you up at the date and time you requested for your activity. Depending on the situation, they may stay with you or come back to collect you afterwards.

You can also request to have the same person accompany you for future outings. The person you will be matched with is a professional – they will either be an employee of a home help or transport organisation. 

If you prefer not to call, you can also do the request online from your personal space on the Agirc-Arrco website. 

In terms of cost, you will not need to pay anything out of pocket during your outing (aside from the activity you are doing of course). The transport and accompaniment costs are covered by Agirc-Arrco and are limited to a certain amount each year.

This means that when you call to organise an outing, they will look at the amount available to you and determine if it falls under the yearly maximum.

What if I don’t qualify? Are there alternatives?

France has plenty of services to help older people, and there is a government website dedicated to the various forms of assistance available.

You can also visit your nearest point d’information local to find out about elderly care in your area. Find one in your area by entering your postcode here.

READ MORE: Explained: The help available for older people in France

If you need someone to help with daily tasks, such as meals, personal care and housework you can seek out an aide à domicile (home-help aid).

Depending on where you live, organisations that offer auxiliaires de vie (carer) services may be provided by the mairie, the centre communal d’action sociale (CCAS) or private businesses. 

Regardless of who’s providing the services, they have to be accredited by the départemental authorities.

The cost of using these services can be at least partially offset by applying for the means-tested Allocation personnalisée d’autonomie APA à domicile (APA), which is intended to help cover expenses faced by people with reduced autonomy who want to maintain an independent lifestyle, or who live with and are cared for by family members.

APA, available to over-60s, is managed and paid for by the each conseil départemental, which considers each case on its merits, with personalised care plans adapted to individual needs.

If you only need temporary help – for example if you’re recovering after an operation – you may be eligible for aide sociale, although you’ll need a doctor’s prescription. Any required short or long-term care in this case will be paid for via assurance maladie.

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