The fake Vitale card scam

This message claims your Vitale card is expiring, that an update is required, or that a reimbursement is reserved for you. It exploits the near-universal trust in the health insurance service and the fact that everyone holds a Vitale card. The link leads to a form demanding your social security number, bank details and sometimes an ID document — enough to build a complete identity theft.

How this scam works

The counterfeit page borrows the public service's visual style 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 combination then allows accounts to be opened or loans taken out in the victim's name. That is what makes this scam's consequences heavier than the parcel one, where only the means of payment is exposed.

How to spot it

• The Vitale card has no expiry date to renew online against a payment.
• The form demands bank details or a card, whereas a reimbursement never asks you to enter one through a link.
• The page's address is not the official ameli.fr domain, often with a word slipped in 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. 1

   Set the link aside

   Reach your account by typing the official address yourself, or go through the app already on your phone.

2. 2

   Check your reimbursements in your account

   Any real reimbursement shows up there. If it appears nowhere, the message is fraud.

3. 3

   Forward to 33700

   Forward the SMS, then send back the sender's number as soon as the service asks for it.

4. 4

   Keep an eye on your accounts in the following weeks

   If you handed over data, identity theft may only surface later: watch your bank statements and unexpected mail.

Your frequently asked questions

SMS Anonyme has no connection with the organisations mentioned on these pages, cited only because crooks hijack their names. Our service is moreover confined to personal, one-off sends, from a masked number: it broadcasts no campaign or commercial message, and could not be the source of a fraudulent SMS received under our name or that of a third party.