The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Social fraud: fake sick leaves sold on Snapchat

2023-03-12T21:59:53.267Z


Forgers are selling work stoppages en masse on social networks for a few tens of euros, reports France Info. For this, they usurp the identity of hundreds of indignant general practitioners.


"

I fell from the clouds [...] It's something very violent

", testifies Thierry *.

This general practitioner in the Paris region saw his name on around sixty work stoppages.

However, he never signed them.

These false falsified documents are sold en masse on the Snapchat social network, according to France Info.

In September 2022, Thierry received calls from employers, mutuals and health insurance funds.

On the phone, he was asked to confirm the authenticity of work stoppages he would have signed.

Thierry discovered that his identity had been stolen.

Curious, he conducted his own investigation: “

I saw that on social networks, you could buy fake work stoppages with the names of fake doctors

”.

3.4 million euros in damages

On Snapchat, hundreds of dubious accounts offer fake medical documents in their “stories”.

Signed and stamped by a real doctor

” with “

dates of your choice

”, these judgments are sent by email “

within fifteen minutes

” or withdrawn on the spot, specifies France Info.

To obtain one, all you have to do is pay between 15 and 30 euros, give your identity, your Social Security number, fill in the duration of the sick leave you want and the reason for it.

In order to deliver them, the scammers associate the stop with a doctor residing in the same region as their client.

Read alsoFour out of ten employees on sick leave in 2022

Hundreds of health professionals have therefore had their identities stolen.

When this offense is committed, the doctor "

must both approach the police or the gendarmerie, but also inform the CPAM, which may investigate the databases of the Health Insurance, in order to detect “possible fraudulent work stoppages and carry out investigations

”, informs Social Security to France Info.

According to the public body, the damage due to falsification of work stoppages by the insured is estimated at 3.4 million euros in 2021.

Protection still insufficient

Social Security regularly carries out medical and administrative checks when the stoppages last several months.

It can also suspend daily allowances, or even impose financial penalties in the event of fraud.

Thierry filed a complaint but nothing has changed since: “

Every day, I have Social Security contacting me to ask me to confirm or deny false work stoppages

”.

Read alsoComplementary health: sick leave is exploding among young people

In October 2022, a 22-year-old resident of Val-d'Oise was fined 1,500 euros according to

La Gazette du Val-d'Oise

, for selling false medical certificates on Snapchat.

*Name has been changed.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-03-12

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.