France faces rise in sophisticated phishing and payment fraud

Fraudulent activities in France are becoming increasingly sophisticated, leveraging massive data leaks and artificial intelligence to target individuals and businesses.

Voice phishing (vishing) is on the rise following major data breaches at the DGFIP and FICOBA. Scammers use spoofing to impersonate banks or tax authorities, displaying legitimate numbers on caller IDs. Arcep has noted a sixteen-fold increase in number spoofing between 2023 and 2024. To identify commercial calls, citizens should look for specific regulated prefixes; calls from 06 or 07 numbers for professional purposes are prohibited.

Other prevalent methods include invoice interception, where cybercriminals replace a supplier's bank details (RIB) with their own in intercepted emails. Because these transfers are often authorized by the victim, banks may refuse refunds. Additionally, delivery scams have evolved to include AI-generated images of fake delivery drivers and personalized voice messages to lure victims into clicking malicious phishing links. These scams often lead to the theft of personal and banking information.