The Covid-19 does not stop scammers on the internet, quite the contrary. Attempts to phish online have increased during containment, according to the joint arm of the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) and the Supervisory Authority and Resolution (ACPR). During this period, the authorities saw the appearance of false solidarity pools, offers of "instant" credits , and even proposals for investments in treatments against Covid-19. “Behind, there is no investment reality. The so-called advisers are specialists in mental manipulation and control, ” warns Claire Castanet, director of investor relations at the AMF.
The online spear phishing phenomenon is not new, but it has been increasing steadily since 2018 and 2.0 sharks know how to surf the trends of the moment. "The confinement was a breeding ground for scammers," confirms Benoît de Juvigny, secretary general of the AMF. Over the first four months of the year, nearly 220 new fraudulent sites have already been added to the black list of the joint pole of the ACPR and the AMF compared to 500 in 2019. “There is an industrialization of these practices through the internet and social networks which allow false messages to be relayed , ”insists Claire Castanet. According to authorities' estimates, these online scams would have cost savers nearly a billion euros between 2017 and 2019.
