Door-to-door, premium-rate numbers, fraudulent emails … Across France, crooks compete in their imagination to trap the elderly and vulnerable by promising them rapid vaccination. The police call for caution.
Targeted seniors
Fear of the virus, shortage of doses, difficulties to get an appointment to be inoculated the vaccine … The opportunity was too good for the crooks who multiply the scams against the elderly and vulnerable since the beginning of the vaccination campaign. From Pas-de-Calais to Gard, reports are becoming more and more frequent. In Haute-Saône, a man with a mask and a briefcase went door to door to offer a home vaccination against remuneration. Fortunately, those involved weren’t fooled. Home vaccination against Covid-19 does not exist, you have to go to a vaccination center. In addition, it is free.
Burglary and phishing attempts
In the Gard, a man pretended to be a gendarme and called the elderly claiming to want to identify the vaccination needs of the population. In reality, it was the better to drive them away from their homes in order to rob them. In Anglet, in the south of France, many residents reported to the town hall that they had received suspicious emails informing them that new vaccines were available. They were then invited to click on a link to make an appointment. Similar technique to Sainte-Maxime in the Var but this time it was an operation intended to collect the bank details of individuals.
Call for caution
Across the country, the police are calling for this fraudulent behavior to be reported. In general, you have to be very careful. To find the closest vaccination site to you and make an appointment, go to the sante.fr site or contact 0 800 009 110 (non-surcharged number).
