Means of payment

Credit cards: how to avoid being a victim of fraud?

Publié le 10 juin 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

In the majority of cases, scammers attacking payment methods steal your phone number and then impersonate trusted third parties to steal your security data. They can even reproduce your banker's voice with artificial intelligence tools. An awareness campaign launched on June 8, 2024, reminds you that you must never share your bank codes, passwords or identifiers with anyone.

The French Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Banque de France, the French Banking Federation and the Observatoire de la sécurité des means of payment report some precautions to be taken regarding your means of payment, in particular:

  • never use any links or phone numbers present in a message when you are not sure who the sender is (fraudsters use this method to obtain your confidential information)
  • never entrust your credit card or any other payment instrument to anyone (a relative, a courier...) and favor the most secure strong authentication solution (banking application on smartphone, USB key, smart watch...);
  • never share your security data (identifiers, passwords...) to anyone;
  • do not store your security data on physical media (notebook, post-it...) or IT (hard drive, email, file on your laptop...);
  • report promptly to phone number 33700 text messages that seem fraudulent to you.

It is also important to know that:

  • your bank advisor will never ask you for a code, password or identifier, or to conduct or validate a financial transaction;
  • an agent of your bank will not come to your house to collect your credit card or to secure your money or jewelry;
  • the Banque de France will never ask you for your bank details, personal information or the cancelation of a banking transaction;
  • the tax administration will not send you an invitation to fill out an online form to get a refund without logging into your personalized space. She won't text you about an unpaid fine either.

What should you do if you have been a victim of bank fraud?

If you have been targeted by a payment scammer, you should ensure that you provide law enforcement or your bank with all information about the fraud you have experienced, including:

  • the technical or manipulative procedures you believe the fraudster has used;
  • the credit card or other payment instrument you have used;
  • messages or calls you receive that appear fraudulent;
  • company the actions you have taken once the fraud has been discovered (blocking your credit card, recourse to the Perceval gait to report credit card fraud, use the Theseus device online complaints about Internet scams...).

Please note

If you are a victim of fraud, your bank cannot require you to file a complaint as a prerequisite to analyzing your refund request.

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