Electric car: what is the charging station scam that is exploding in France ?

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If you are not yet familiar with the charging station scam, the following should interest you. This deception, often very finely carried out, could indeed cost you dearly. Let's take stock.

A false investment

The magazine 60 million consumersreported the case of Nicolas, a 28-year-old man who scanned a QR code in a magazine. The advert led to an online form that sought to collect personal information from people interested in investing in charging stations.

A few months later, Nicolas received a call from someone claiming to be an “EDF EPI advisor”, a subsidiary of EDF. Very professional, the latter described to him in detail an attractive investment “secure, very profitable and tax-free”. She even sends him a document that perfectly imitates the identity of EDF PEI.

Everything seems to be in order to make a good deal. The young man takes the plunge and transfers 19,600 euros to a Treezor account, a subsidiary of Société Générale. And then, it's a cold shower. Reading a mea culpa statement from Capital,who had broadcast this advertisement, Nicolas realizes that he has been scammed.

Ultimately, almost all of the money sent will indeed be lost, even if the fraud was reported to the bank. The latter was nevertheless able to recover 275 euros from the account of these malicious actors. A very small consolation.

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Beyond this personal story, Le Journal du Geek specifies that scams related to false investments are exploding in France. They are notably present on social network threads and in search engine responses.

How to avoid getting scammed ?

Vigilance is therefore more important than ever. As our colleagues rightly point out, it is important to pay attention to certain details in advertisements. For example, they must mention the risks associated with an investment and possible financial losses.

You should also be particularly wary of promises of too-quick gains that are often too good to be true. Finally, a scrupulous check of the advertiser is necessary. As we have seen above, scammers make considerable efforts to appear credible. To do this, you can in particular contact the company directly to find out if your contact is indeed one of them.

Beware of QR code scams

In addition to these phishing scams, in December 2023 we told you about the hacking of a charging station located in Lorris, a small village in Loiret. A criminal had stuck a corrupted QR code in order to divert money from victims who wanted to pay with their smartphone.

Fortunately, this deception was quickly discovered and the station was temporarily deactivated to make the necessary modifications. More information in our previous article here.

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