Crit’Air car sticker scams multiply in France
Drivers are warned not to heed text messages or emails about Crit’Air stickers
Crit’Air stickers can only be ordered on the official website or in writing
Hadrian / Shutterstock
Scammers are using text messages and emails about Crit’Air car stickers to trick people into visiting phishing websites and entering their personal information.
Any information that victims enter into the fraudulent websites can then be used by scammers.
The texts messages are sent at random to unsuspecting victims, who are told that they must update their Crit’Air sticker via a link to a seemingly official website.
The Paris Préfecture de Police released a video on twitter to alert people about the danger of these scams.
The official website for information about Crit’Air stickers is certificat-air.gouv.fr. Scammers try to trick people to visit a website with a very similar name.
Crit’Air does not send text or email alerts to remind people to buy a new one.
Anyone who has fallen victim to a scam in France is encouraged to report it by text message to 33 700, by mail to signal-spam or on the official cybercrime website.
Crit’Air stickers may only be purchased via the official website or by printing the paper form and returning it to:
Service de délivrance du certificat qualité de l’air
BP 50637
59506 Douai Cedex
What are Crit’Air stickers?
Crit’Air stickers are small vignettes that must be displayed on any vehicle in low-emission zones (zone à faibles émissions or ZFE).
They show how polluting a vehicle is, with the vehicle being given a sticker with one of six levels on a sliding scale.
The scale goes from a ‘0’ (for 100% electric or hydrogen vehicles) up to a ‘5’ (for the most polluting vehicles).
Read more: A guide to Crit’Air stickers in France
They must be placed either on the bottom right-hand side of a car’s windscreen or on the fork between a motorbike’s handlebars.
The type of Crit’Air sticker your vehicle has can limit or exclude entirely the vehicle from areas with a ZFE, depending on the area you are driving through.
Read also
Which French towns are delaying obligatory air pollution stickers?
Driving in France: Where must you have a Crit'Air pollution sticker?
Do foreign cars need to obtain a Crit’Air sticker to drive in France?
