Published on March 25, 2023 at 12:26 p.m.
Warning: the Family Allowance Fund warns of scams – ©Sora Shimazaki
Millions of French people benefit from CAF aid as a supplement to their income. However, scammers pretending to be the organization are trying to collect your bank details.
They are at the origin of housing aid, the active solidarity income or the activity bonus. CAF is the organization that allows the most modest French people to supplement their income. The conditions of obtaining as well as the amounts vary according to the situation of the individuals. But this aid is a godsend in the period of inflation that we are currently experiencing.
CAF alerts beneficiaries to phishing attempts. Indeed, scammers try to pass themselves off as the organization by dangling exceptional gains, through fraudulent SMS or e-mails. They thus imitate the logo, the format of the e-mail address as well as the layout of CAF to make it look like an official letter. Many require users to connect to an unsecured link to collect pending benefits. However, the link is fraudulent and risks putting your identity and banking information at risk.
Their goal is to push you to reveal your personal information, and more particularly your bank details. They can then empty your bank accounts or usurp your identity to commit crimes.
Fortunately, there are methods to flush out fraudsters. If the message contains spelling mistakes, an insecure link (which does not start with https:// and ends with .net or .org) or mentions exceptional bonuses, it is probably a scam.
Moreover, the Family Allowance Fund never sends SMS to its beneficiaries. They indeed prefer letters by post or documents on the personal space of the dedicated site. The official CAF number is 3220, any other number should be treated with suspicion.
To receive aid from CAF, the surest means are still to go there to make your requests, to print the corresponding documents by sending them by post or to connect to the official CAF website to update your information.