Fake parcel, fine or blocked account texts

These campaigns are sent out by the million, at random. If the message lands just as you really are waiting for a parcel, the coincidence feels unsettling - but that is all it is. Nobody is targeting you personally.

The most common scenarios

• A parcel on hold, asking for a few euros in customs or redelivery fees.
• A fine to pay before a date close at hand, or it will increase.
• A blocked bank account, with a link to "unblock" it.
• A training account or a public benefit to claim before it expires.
• A message from a relative who has changed number, and who then asks for a transfer.

The signs that give the fake away

• The urgency. It is the heart of the method : getting you to act before you think. A public body always allows you time.
• The link. Look at the address without clicking. Real public services use addresses ending in gouv.fr, not near-miss variants or shortened links.
• The trivial amount. A few euros put you at ease, but the target is your card number, not the sum.
• The request for a code. No bank and no public body asks for a code received by text. That code is precisely what validates the fraudulent transaction.

If you clicked

Opening the page is generally not enough to do any harm. What counts is what you typed into it :

• Nothing: close it, do not go back, all is well.
• A password: change it on the real site, and everywhere else you used the same one.
• Your card details: call your bank immediately on the number printed on the back of your card, and have the card stopped.
• A code received by text: call the bank without waiting, a transaction is probably under way.

The steps are set out in detail on our page what to do after a fraudulent link.

Reporting it

In France, fraudulent texts are reported free of charge by forwarding them to 33700, the official service against unwanted messages. You get an automatic reply asking for the sender's number. It takes a moment and it genuinely feeds the blocking of the numbers being used.

For phishing attempts more generally, the public reporting platforms also let you report fraudulent websites.

Protecting a relative

This is often the best use of this article. The message to pass on is simple, and one sentence covers it : you never click a link received in a message, you open the site or the app yourself. We cover these habits in our one-to-one sessions at home, without jargon and at a suitable pace.

Frequently asked questions

Would you rather we took care of it ? See our antivirus installation and setup service, in Lyon and across the Rhone.