DistantNews
Support us
🇫🇷 France /Crime & Justice

Scammers use fake French tax letter to impersonate public finances authorities

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Internet users in France have reported receiving a fake letter falsely presented as an official Direction générale des Finances publiques document.
  • The letter threatens fines for undeclared digital-asset accounts and directs recipients to a fraudulent website through a QR code.
  • The scammers seek personal credentials, cryptocurrency and banking information, amid recent cyberattacks and data breaches affecting public bodies.

A fake administrative letter is using the identity of France’s public-finances authority to target people with threats of heavy fines.

The one-page document resembles an official notice and cites European regulations and legal provisions. It tells recipients to register on a fake “Digital Assets Portal” by September 5, 2026, warning of a 750-euro fine for each undeclared digital-asset account, rising to 1,500 euros when an account is worth more than 50,000 euros.

The letter and the website are fraudulent. Recipients are encouraged to scan a QR code that redirects them to the fake portal, where the scammers attempt to obtain login details, cryptocurrency and banking information.

Ethical hacker SaxX raised the alarm on X, saying, “The letter is very credible and was generated with AI. Thousands of people risk being and will be scammed.”

The scheme follows several recent data theft incidents involving public institutions. In June 2026, a cyberattack against the Direction générale des Finances publiques exposed the personal information of nearly 700,000 people. At the end of August, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu gave ministries two weeks to implement a state security plan developed in April to strengthen protection against cyberattacks.

The letter is very credible and was generated with AI. Thousands of people risk being and will be scammed.

· SaxXThe ethical hacker warned users about the fraudulent letter and its use of artificial intelligence.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog