Millions at risk of fraud after massive health data hack in France

pThe hack is thought to concern the names and social security numbers of millions of people Pic RVillalon ShutterstockppMillions of people are at risk of fraud after a data breach at a company that manages the thirdparty payments for 84 topup insurance providersppViamedis whose systems the thirdparty payments for over 20 million people announced the data breach on February 2 Its clients include Carte Blanche Partenaires Itelis Kalixia and Santéclair among many othersppTo date we do not know precisely how many people have been affected the matter is still under investigation Viamedis CEO Christophe Candé told AFPppThe leak contains sensitive information that scammers can use for phishing attempts including individualsppNo bank information postal addresses phone numbers or emails were concerned by this act of piracy said Viamedis in its statementppViamedis says that the hacked program has been disconnected which might impact thirdparty payments with opticians and hearing aid specialists ppHowever the company says that most people should be able to use their carte Vitale and thirdparty payment card as normalppViamedis has filed a police complaint over the matter and officially informed the French data protection watchdog Commission nationale de linformatique et des libertés as is required in such instances of data breaches ppRead more Seven muchused scams to watch out for in France ppWhile the scammers did not glean any email addresses or telephone numbers from the Viamedis breach they can easily cross reference the leaked data with information from other sourcesppThey will likely use this information to create a profile of individuals to markout for targeted phishing attempts whereby scammers pose as a bank or insurance company and try to convince people to pay for unexpected costs premiums fines or forgotten debtsppThe advice for people concerned about their data is to avoid responding to emails and phone calls but rather to call organisations directly using the contact details available from official sourcesppThis online tool helps you guard against identity theft in France ppClaiming free or cheaper topup French health insurance to get easier ppHelp guidesppOverview of online declarations stepbystep guide to the French printed formsppUnderstand formalities around French succession rules and considerations for buying propertyppUnderstand what visas and residency cards are required for a move to France or to come for an extended stayp