The carte Vitale scam

A public service impersonated, because everyone trusts it.

This message says your carte Vitale is about to expire, that a renewal is needed, or that a refund is waiting for you. It exploits near-universal trust in the French health service and the fact that everyone holds a carte Vitale. The link leads to a form asking for a social security number, bank details and sometimes an identity document — enough to assemble a full identity theft.

How this scam works

The imitated page borrows the visual language of the public service and asks for a far wider set of data than a simple card fraud: identity, social security number, bank details, sometimes a supporting document. That combination then allows accounts to be opened or credit taken out in the victim's name. This is what makes the scam heavier in consequence than the parcel one, where only the payment method is compromised.

How to recognise it

The carte Vitale has no expiry date to renew online against payment.
The form asks for bank details or a card, whereas a refund never requires you to enter them from a link.
The page address is not the official ameli.fr domain, often with an extra word or hyphen.
The message does not use your name, although your health fund knows who you are.

What to do if you received this message

1
Do not open the link
Sign in to your account by typing the official address yourself, or through the app you already have installed.
2
Check your refunds from your account
Any genuine refund appears there. If it appears nowhere, the message is fraudulent.
3
Report it to 33700
Forward the text, then send back the sender's number when the service asks for it.
4
Watch your accounts over the following weeks
If you gave out data, identity theft may only surface later: keep an eye on statements and unusual post.

What you must never do

•Never give out your social security number through a link received by SMS.
•Never send a photo of your identity document in reply to an unsolicited message.
•Do not enter your account credentials on a page reached from a text, however identical it looks.

Frequently asked questions

Does the French health service actually send SMS?+

Yes, for reminders and information, but never to ask for bank details, a payment or proof of identity through a link.

I filled in the form — what should I do?+

Change your account password, tell your bank if you gave bank or card details, then follow the procedure set out by cybermalveillance.gouv.fr.

Report to 33700 See all scams Glossary

Mon SMS Gratuit is not affiliated with any of the organisations named on these pages; they appear only because fraudsters impersonate them. Our service is also reserved for personal, one-off sending: it sends no campaigns and no commercial messages, and cannot be the source of a fraudulent SMS sent in our name or anyone else's.