Fuel at 2 euros: beware of this new scam

Fuel prices are exploding to the chagrin of motorists. At the same time, crooks take advantage of this to take even more money from the French. A new scam has recently emerged on Facebook and it is well put together.

New advertisements have emerged on the social network, and their promise is enticing: no less than 200 liters of gasoline for the modest sum of €1.95.

There are four such advertisements, published on Facebook from pages named “Le carburaпt des Français”, “Fuel discounts for the French” or “ToтaІ Іnс fuel cards.”, as noted by our colleagues from BFMTV. These advertisements mention the existence of a “fuel card” offered by the company Total to all Internet users who agree to fill out a form.

A link is attached with the post, referring to a website similar to that of Total, making the illusion perfect. The victim is then invited to complete a basic questionnaire. The personal information of the victim must then be filled in, namely the surname, first name, address, telephone number, not to mention the credit card number.

And it is here that the main risk lies since the scammers can then use this information as they see fit and in particular make purchases with the victim’s card.

This scam technique is called phishing. As La Dépêche explains, it consists of deceiving a victim to force him to give personal data.

The spread of this scam also raises other questions. Indeed, Facebook is supposed to verify the origin of advertisements to avoid spreading such scams. However, it seems that with the multiplication of scammers, the task is more and more complex for the platform.