French banking customers face wave of phishing scams and fake 69‑euro charges

A series of phishing scams targeting French bank customers uses a €69 fraudulent charge to create urgency. Victims receive SMS, email or voice messages that appear to come from their bank, prompting them to click links or provide authentication details. Authorities advise checking any transaction directly in the official banking app, never clicking links in unsolicited messages, and preserving evidence such as screenshots.

The Crédit Agricole Nord Est has reported a rise in similar fraudulent messages that mimic its push‑notification system. The bank recommends using the “Ma Banque” app for all confirmations, activating the SécuriPass strong‑authentication feature, and recognizing that genuine notifications never contain clickable links or request passwords via SMS. Fraudsters also employ phone calls pretending to be bank advisers to obtain validation codes. Customers are urged to end any such calls, verify requests only through the official app, and re‑enrol SécuriPass after changing devices to prevent unauthorized access.