The five warning signs

1. You're put under pressure. "Your account will be blocked within 24 hours", "your computer is infected, whatever you do don't turn it off", "you need to pay right now". Urgency is used to stop you thinking and checking. An administration or a bank always gives you time to call back.

2. You're asked for a code received by text message. This is the most reliable signal of all. This code is the key to your account or your payment. No one — not your bank, not a technician, not customer service — has any legitimate reason to ask you for it. Whoever asks for it is trying to validate an operation in your place.

3. Someone wants to take control of your screen without you having asked. Remote access is a normal repair tool, but it's you who starts it, with someone you've chosen and called back. An incoming call that gets you to install remote-control software is a scam, without exception.

4. The payment method is unusual. Prepaid cards, gift vouchers, a transfer to an individual, cryptocurrency: these are irreversible, untraceable payments. No legitimate service gets paid this way.

5. The address doesn't match. Before clicking, look at the actual address of the link (by hovering over it on a computer, or pressing and holding on a phone) and the sender's full address. Fake addresses mimic the real one: an extra hyphen, a different extension, a brand name followed by a domain that has nothing to do with it.

The most common forms right now

The fake technical support. A warning window locks up the browser, with a number to call "urgently". The page is just a website, the computer isn't infected. Close the browser — forcing it closed if needed — and never call the number shown.

The fake delivery text message. A parcel is supposedly stuck, and a few cents in fees need paying. The goal isn't that small amount, it's to get hold of your card number. Always check tracking on the carrier's own website, never through the link in the message.

The fake message from a relative. "Mum, I've changed my number, I can't pay right now, can you cover it?" The reflex that cuts it short: call the person on their old number, or ask a question only the real relative would know the answer to.

The fake official e-mail. Tax refund, health insurance, fine, social benefit. Same rule: never use the link in the message; type the official website address yourself, or go through your usual app.

What these messages cannot do

Receiving a fraudulent message doesn't infect your device. Opening an e-mail doesn't either, in the vast majority of cases. The danger comes from what you do next: clicking, entering a login, opening an attachment, installing software, giving out a code. As long as you haven't done any of that, all you need to do is delete the message.

You've already clicked or paid: what to do

First, don't blame yourself: these messages are designed to fool attentive people. Act in this order.

If you gave out a card number or made a payment: call your bank immediately to block the card, then dispute the transaction. The faster you act, the higher the chances of it being cancelled.

If you entered a password: change it straight away on the real website, and on any other account where you used the same one. Turn on two-step verification wherever possible.

If you let someone take control of your computer: disconnect it from the internet, stop using it for your bank accounts, and have it checked. Treat every password saved in the browser as compromised and change them from a different device.

You can report attempts through the French public services: cybermalveillance.gouv.fr for guidance, the internet-signalement.gouv.fr platform to report, and 33 700 to forward a fraudulent text message. Filing a police report remains possible at a gendarmerie or police station.