Criminals are increasingly using more sophisticated methods to take advantage of their victims. Cybercrime has enhanced scam tactics that are deployed through the Internet to rob citizens. Among these ploys, one of the most common techniques is phishing. It consists of impersonating a banking entity or a trusted institution, creating a misleading appearance that induces users to inadvertently share confidential information.
The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), for example, has had to come forward to warn citizens that notifications of traffic fines are communicated only by postal mail and the Road Electronic Address. The agency has been forced to intensify warnings due to the constant growth of fraudulent attempts by scammers to collect alleged traffic fines.
A new method of fraud practiced by criminals takes us to France and is related to chargers for electric and electrified cars. In Lorris, a town in the Center region, located about 135 kilometers south of Paris, they have uncovered a new type of fraud that could spread to other cities in the country and even cross borders, with the danger of reaching Spain.
The trick that criminals use in this case to scam users consists of placing a counterfeit QR code on the poles of the charging stations. In this way, drivers who go to recharge their vehicles, confident in the apparent legality of the code, scan the image with their mobile devices, without suspecting that they are being victims of a premeditated deception. Upon payment, the money goes directly to the criminals' bank accounts.
“It is a new formula of crime, in which the person is not directly attacked but rather their bank account. The objective is to obtain the user's bank details,” explains Fabrice Berton, head of the Lorris municipal police, in statements reported by various French media.
The digital media BFM Tech
The affected users paid amounts ranging between 40 and 50 euros without being able to continue with the loading process, since these amounts went entirely to the bank accounts of the scammers.
The mayor of Lorris, Velérie Martin, expressed her surprise at this new scam method. “As soon as we were informed of this attack, Ineo (the supply company) reacted quickly and the station was immediately deactivated to prevent other users from being scammed.”
It has not been revealed whether other chargers were hacked by criminals, but municipal and police authorities recommend using the service provider's application directly to pay the requested amount. They also advise using the bank card directly at the charging point, checking beforehand that the charging point has not been tampered with.
Lorris Municipal Police have announced that they are conducting an investigation to find the perpetrators of the scam. To help discover his identity, police officers hope to use video surveillance cameras installed on the streets of the municipality.
