Because you forgot to pay a parking fine in France, the amount owed has more than doubled. And if you do not pay within 24 hours, you now even risk a fine of 675 euros. The email is sent on behalf of ANTIA, the agency responsible for collecting fines in France, but it is a scam.
“An email is currently circulating on behalf of the Agence Nationale de Traitement Automatisé des Infractions (ANTAI). This is the French national agency responsible for collecting parking fines. Do not pay, it is phishing, scammers are after your bank details,” says Safeonweb, the service that warns against scams via the internet.
Yet it all seems real. And it is mainly people who have recently been to France who receive the message in their mailbox. “However, the link in the email takes you to a fraudulent website,” says Safeonweb.
According to ANTAI you have not paid a parking fine of 135 euros. That is why the amount due has now risen to 284.99 euros. If you do not pay within 24 hours, the fine is even 675 euros.
“Always check the sender’s email address,” Safeonweb advises. “You will see that ANTAI is not the sender. Official emails from ANTAI are sent from this email address: [email protected].”
Also check the URL of the website the link points to. You can hover your mouse over the link to check this. The official website of ANTAI is https://www.antai.gouv.fr.
Did you click on the link anyway? Do not fill in the blank fields and cancel any interaction. Never give out personal information or codes. If you have provided a password that you also use elsewhere, change it immediately.
Have you been scammed?
From the moment you have lost money or been extorted, we recommend reporting it to the police. You file a report with the local police where you live, it says.
“Contact your bank and/or Card Stop on 078 170 170 if you have provided bank details, money disappears from your bank account or if you have transferred money to a scammer. In this way, any fraudulent transactions can be blocked,” says Febelfin.