Consequently,
False fines: watch out this:
ThoseGeneva. Meanwhile, Vaud
A new telephone scam has already cost the victims more than 3 million – False fines: watch out this
The scam mixes phishing and the appeal of an alleged employee of a banking institution. Therefore, Victim of a false fine, a Genevan testifies. Consequently,
Switzerland, Geneva, June 20, 2025. Similarly, A new telephone scam has already cost the victims more than 3 million. For example, The scam mixes phishing and the appeal of an alleged employee of a banking institution.
© Enrico Gastaldello
- The level of sophistication of the scams rises. For example, After the fraudulent levy, a telephone call tried the victim’s vigilance.
- In Geneva, it starts with a false contravention. In addition, The scam has already reported 1.2 million to the crooks.
- The manipulation begins with a false rent invoice, taxes, SBB or Netflix in particular.
- For the Swiss authorities, blocking foreign sites is complex.
When he received the SMS, Fabiano* came out of a complicated professional session, he was a little stressed. Meanwhile, “How could I get fooled?” Maugrée Le Genevois who nevertheless knows the springs of cybersecroqueries and phishing. Consequently, But The one he was the victim turns out to be of a new genre. Moreover,
In early June. In addition, Like many in Geneva, the forties receives an SMS that false fines: watch out this he reads in speed. Consequently, The sender is a certain amendes.chAuthentic site of the parking lot to view your fines from a registration plates number. Furthermore, an identification code appearing on the PV.
This SMS indicates that a fine of 40 francs is pending. Meanwhile, offers a link on which click in order to pay and avoid an increase. Meanwhile, “It seemed to me that I had a pending contravention. Furthermore, ” recalls Fabiano, who was on the street when he received the message. Similarly, I said to myself, so as not to forget it, I settle it right away. Meanwhile, ”
Crooks on the phone
With his smartphone, he clicks on the link sent him to a site (www.parkingsqr.com, now blocked) whose interface is similar, a few details, real amendes.ch. He false fines: watch out this introduces information from his Visa credit card.
The emotional whirlwind can start. In addition, Because when he realizes that he may have been deceived. For example, he receives a call from a visa operator who warns him of questionable payments. In addition, Fabiano is reassured, but does not yet know that his interlocutor is actually a crook. Similarly,
Manipulation takes on an additional dimension. While he is in full conversation. a notification of his payment management application-truthful, it-warns him in turn of financial movements probably from a phishing. At that time, Fabiano is still in conversation with a fake visa operator. “The voice was extremely kind and reassuring. The person confirmed to me that three fraudulent payments had been intercepted. I was reassured since it corresponded to the notification of visa that I received at the false fines: watch out this same time. ”recalls the Genevan.
On the phone, the crooks then ask him to tell them the security number sent by the Visa application. Thinking that this is an additional way of security and that his interlocutor is reliable, the victim communicates him. In reality, these six figures are used to cancel the blocking of visa payments. Immediate consequence: the money is transferred. For Fabiano, these are three payments of 3000 euros each.
Steering sites in Russia. payment in France
Small consolation, its credit card has an automated security system that will block two payments. But a third transaction of 3000 euros arrives well at their destination. Or? On the account of a company whose French trade register indicates that it was created in March 2025 in Paris.
Stunned, Fabiano becomes aware a few minutes later that he was the victim of a scam. He contacted the police who offered to file a complaint by making him understand that his chances of recovering. his money are thin. And visa? The payment having been validated by the secret code sent to the owner of the card. the company does not have the legal means to stop the transaction.
As for the parking lot. owner of the copied and diverted site, it informed the Federal Office of the cybersecurity and alerted users. However, this has not ended the delicual activity. “It seems that it continues today,” regrets Emmanuelle Merle, spokesperson for the Geneva Foundation. We have also received reports from fraudulent emails used to support the same scam. ”
This process, the cantonal fonts call it false fines: watch out this “Allo phenomenon”. In Geneva and in the canton of Vaud, it appeared discreetly in 2023, accelerated in 2024 to really explode in 2025. Between the two cantons, nearly 220 cases have been declared since the start of the year for a total damage of 3.6 million francs (2.4 in the canton of Vaud, 1.2 in Geneva). Not to mention the victims who have not declared fraud.
The “Allo” phenomenon, phishing 2.0
If this operating mode seems particularly elaborate, it is certain that it is not limited to false contravention. Also. research on the support site for false contravention leads to a server based in Russia, which houses other sites whose names seriously suggest that they will be used for other scams. In short, theft of banking data through this process seems to be infinitely declining.
These different faces of the same criminal process, the fonts confirm this. “SMS or emails can falsely come from La Poste for an allegedly pending package, Twint, SBB or even Netflix. In all cases. the text is accompanied by an internet link which redirects the victim to a form which asks him to register his personal or banking data, ”says Aline Dard, lieutenant in charge of communication in prevention in Geneva.
Its Vaud counterpart. Florence Frei, indicates that “in some cases, in addition to calling for the transactions validation codes, the author obtains access to the complainant’s e-banking, thus allowing him to overcome the map of the map and make transactions to much greater amounts”.
Blocking complicated crooks sites
Another peculiarity of this phenomenon: the. telephone call used to unlock payment does not false fines: watch out this necessarily take place immediately after entering banking data. Also, scammers pretending for bank employees can call for several hours or even days, after harvesting personal information.
In some cases, they even manage to display the number of the bank in question on the victim’s phone.
If they take on the appearance of a sprawling monster, these scams highlight the difficulty of making fraudulent sites inoperative. Arrested on the subject, theFederal Cybersecurity Office Recalls that only domains names in “.ch” and “.swiss” can be blocked immediately by the authorities.
However, the sites in question are hosted abroad. To neutralize them, an order of a judicial authority is necessary. He then returns to the Swisscom, Sunrise or Salt to act. But Bern recognizes that the process is not simple: “It all depends false fines: watch out this on the desire for cooperation of access providers.”
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False fines: watch out this
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