If you are not yet familiar with the charging station scam, the following should interest you. This deception, often very carefully carried out, could indeed cost you dearly. Let’s take stock.
A false investment
The magazine 60 million consumers reported the case of Nicolas, a 28-year-old young man who scanned a QR code in a magazine. This announcement referred to an online form which aimed to collect personal information from people interested in investing in charging stations.
A few months later, Nicolas received a call from a person claiming to be an “EDF EPI advisor”, a subsidiary of EDF. Very professional, the latter describes with precision an attractive investment “secure, very profitable and tax-free”. She even sends him a document that perfectly imitates the identity of EDF PEI.
So everything seems in order to get a good deal. The young man took the plunge and made a transfer of 19,600 euros to a Treezor account, a subsidiary of Société Générale. And then, it’s the cold shower. Reading a mea culpa statement from Capital, who had broadcast this advertisement, Nicolas realizes that he has been defrauded.
Eventually, almost all of the money sent will indeed be lost, even if the fraud has been reported to the bank. The latter was nevertheless able to recover 275 euros from the account of these malicious actors. A very small consolation.
Beyond this personal story, The Geek Journal thus specifies that scams linked to false investments are exploding in France. They are particularly present on social media feeds and in search engine responses.
How to avoid being fooled?
Vigilance is therefore more important than ever. As our colleagues rightly point out, it is important to pay attention to certain details in the announcements. For example, they must mention the risks associated with an investment and possible financial losses.
You should also be particularly wary of promises of quick gains which are often too good to be true. Finally, scrupulous verification of the advertiser is necessary. As we saw above, scammers go to great lengths to appear credible. To do this, you can contact the company directly to find out if your contact is one of them.
Beware of QR code scams
In addition to these scams based on phishing, we told you in December 2023 about the hacking suffered by a charging station located in Lorris, a small village in Loiret. A criminal had pasted a corrupted QR code in order to divert money from victims who wanted to pay with their smartphone.
Fortunately, this deception was quickly discovered and the terminal was temporarily deactivated to make the necessary modifications. More information in our previous article here.
