An SNCF Avantage card for 2.45 euros ? Beware of this new scam which is spreading via fraudulent emails

Méfiez-vous des mails frauduleux. ILLUSTRATION MAXPPP – DAMIEN GAUTIER

La SNCF est à nouveau victime d’une campagne d’escroquerie en ligne. Derrière l’invitation à souscrire à un abonnement annuel pour la modique somme de 2,45 euros se cache une tentative de dérober vos données personnelles et bancaires.

An advantage card at 2.45 euros instead of 49 euros. Too good to be true, you say to yourself? You're right! For several days, the SNCF has once again been the target of an online scam, reveal our colleagues from France 3.

The offer is sent via fraudulent e-mails which use the visual identity of the railway company, and links to a site which perfectly replicates that of the SNCF.

First troubling detail: only the "Offers” of the site is active. Second detail which does not mislead: the e-mail address of the sender has nothing to do with an SNCF address. The scammers behind this type of scam are in reality stealing the personal data, particularly banking data, of the victims.

This is not the first time that false commercial offers from SNCF have circulated. Last summer, another online scam offered Internet users an Advantage card for 99 cents, then another, again for 2.45 euros, on the occasion of Black Friday.

How to spot fraudulent emails?

To spot these frauds and protect yourself against them, it is advisable to check the address of the sender of the e-mail: if the name seems strange to you, it’s probably not legitimate.

In addition, the SNCF specifies on its internet that it "will never ask you to provide your personal data either by email or by SMS" . The railway company claims that it is actively fighting these phishing campaigns" and invites its customers "to report any phishing attempt".

If you have the slightest doubt, it is best not to click on the links in the body of the message and report it to the company whose identity is being stolen and to the government website Cybermalvolence.