Beware of aigrefins specialized in the telephone scam to the account of training personnel (CPF)!
They swarm and multiply the subterfuges to get their hands on this money intended to finance training or retraining of employees.
"Be careful, any phone call concerning the CPF is suspect," warns Michel Yahiel, the director of pensions and solidarity at the Caisse des Dépôts, the organization which manages it.
“To date, 12 million euros have been siphoned off, 82 training organizations excluded and 26 complaints filed with the courts,” he reveals.
In mid-December, barely three months ago, the amount of the fraud was estimated at 10 million euros.
The exponential increase in fraud is such a sensitive issue that an investigation has recently been opened for "breach of computer processing systems", "fraudulent data extractions" and "organized gang fraud".
The thieves risk “a fine of 375,000 euros and ten years of imprisonment,” said the Paris prosecutor's office.
The origin of this crook is simple: since 2019, the mobile application, a flagship measure of the reform of training and apprenticeship initiated by Muriel Pénicaud, the former Minister of Labor, is no longer credited in hours but in euros.
Money paid each year by employers, via the Caisse des Dépôts, into the personal accounts of workers registered on the platform, and up to a limit of 5,000 euros ...
The bad trick usually starts with a text message
In total, these attacks have already affected more than 10,000 user accounts, "but it is estimated that 33,000 people have been approached by people who have tried to have them", details Jean-Jacques Latour, head of the cybersecurity expertise for cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, the government website responsible for providing information on digital threats.
"The damages for the victims can range from a few hundred to several thousand euros," he says.
But there are few complaints, because these euros are not hard cash.
Sometimes victims get a poor PDF and don't even understand that the training was bogus.
"
The bad trick generally begins with an SMS which often uses the same formula: “Hello, we have tried twice to reach you in order to arrange a meeting which is compulsory within the framework of the Pôle Emploi service.
"
READ ALSO>
MonCompteFormation, the app designed to simplify access to vocational training
The crooks also pretend to be agents of the Caisse des Dépôts and even the Ministry of Labor….
Their objective ?
Obtain identifiers (Social Security number and password) and personal data in order to connect to accounts and redirect credits to specially created companies in order to usurp the identity of real training organizations.
Thieves do not hesitate to accompany the victim to help him reset his password if he has already created an account.
Sometimes they go so far as to create it for it in order to take control of it.
More worrying: in some cases, it happens that the charlatan already knows the last name, first name, telephone number and Social Security of the victim.
"Mafia activity"
In one year, the application of the CPF "has become an incredible playground for cybercriminals", explains Jean-Jacques Latour.
The specialist describes "a mafia activity" organized around "call centers that walk all day to try to empty the accounts".
Most of the time, calls come from "Africa and English-speaking countries," he reveals.
On the phone, the charlatans do not hesitate to argue convincingly and urgently, while worrying the beneficiaries about the expiration of their individual rights to training not consumed, which can be transferred to the CPF until June 30, 2021.
Contacted on multiple occasions, the Ministry of Labor did not respond to us, but, according to our information, a new, more robust certification of approved training organizations must be created to stem the phenomenon.
Pending the outcome of the investigation, entrusted to the research section of Versailles, this new official stamp will be added to the latest provisions supposed to counter pirates.
Since February, account holders can evaluate the training they take.
Newsletter It pays me
The newsletter that improves your purchasing power
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
Another improvement, the platform has been using FranceConnect technology since January - a device that offers additional security on connection and guarantees the identity of a user by relying on existing accounts, for which his identity has been identified. already been verified.