The fake Vitale card scam
A public service hijacked, because it inspires everyone's trust.
This message claims that your Vitale card is expiring, that an update is needed, or that a refund is waiting for you. It exploits the near-universal trust in the French health insurance and the fact that everyone has a Vitale card. The link leads to a form asking for your social security number, bank details and sometimes an ID document, enough to build complete identity theft.
How this scam works
The counterfeit page copies the visual codes of the public service and asks for a far wider range of data than a simple card fraud: personal details, social security number, bank details, sometimes a supporting document. This set then makes it possible to open accounts or take out loans in the victim's name. That's what makes this scam more serious in its consequences than the parcel one, where only the payment method is exposed.
How to recognise it
- The Vitale card has no expiry date to renew online in exchange for a payment.
- The form demands bank details or a card, whereas a refund never asks you to enter any via a link.
- The page's address isn't the official ameli.fr domain, often with an added word or an extra hyphen.
- The message doesn't name you, whereas your fund knows your identity perfectly well.
What to do after receiving this message
- 1
Ignore the link
Reach your account by typing the official address yourself, or go through the app already installed on your phone.
- 2
Check your refunds in your account
Any real refund appears there. If it shows up nowhere, the message is fraud.
- 3
Forward to 33700
Forward the SMS, then send back the sender's number as soon as the service asks for it.
- 4
Watch your accounts over the following weeks
If you shared data, identity theft may surface only later: keep an eye on bank statements and unexpected mail.
The reflexes to avoid absolutely
- •Never share your social security number via a link received by SMS.
- •Never send a photo of your ID in reply to an unsolicited message.
- •Don't enter your account credentials on a page reached from an SMS, even if it looks identical in every way to the original.
Your frequently asked questions
Does the health insurance really send SMS?
Yes, for reminders or information, but never to ask for bank details, a payment or proof of identity via a link.
I filled in the form, what happens next?
Change your account password, warn your bank if you provided bank details or a card, then follow the cybermalveillance.gouv.fr procedure.
Envoyer SMS Gratuit has no connection with the organisations cited on these pages, mentioned only because scammers usurp their name. Our service is, moreover, limited to personal and occasional sends, entirely free: it broadcasts neither campaign nor commercial message, and therefore cannot be the origin of a fraudulent SMS received under our name or that of a third party.
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