By akademiotoelektronik, 20/04/2022

CPF scams: still no ban on cold calling

By Léa Giandomenico Posted onNewsSee my news

“Your 2022 CPF balance has been updated. Consult and claim your training before it expires, by clicking on this link. Who hasn't already fumed upon receiving this SMS?

In recent times, these messages which are, without a doubt, fraudulent, are legion among many people. The goal: to recover data from users of the Personal Training Account (CPF) and have them spend a few hundred euros on bogus training.

And the scammers play on fear and lies, making some 38 million CPF holders believe that if they don't use the money available on their space before a certain date, they will lose everything.

Where do these scams come from?

“These people manage to convince users to use their account to pay for a false training”, adds Michel Yahiel, director of social policies at Caisse des Dépôts, in charge of the CPF, contacted by actu.fr.

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“But be careful, the phenomenon remains minimal all the same, because out of 39 million accounts opened since the start of the CPF (in November 2019), only 10,000 people have suffered damage, which represents around 15 million euros. It may seem like a huge sum, but on the mass of CPF credits, it's not so much, ”he explains.

And the Caisse des dépôts has lodged a complaint against around thirty of these organizations, which are thus going to court.

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But by the way, what is CPF?

The Personal Training Account is a system set up by the government (via the Caisse des dépôts), which allows any employee to benefit from funding for continuing training (to acquire new skills, to retrain. ..). "Today, the CPF is made up of 25,000 training organizations on the platform with more than 3,000 certifications, and a panel of 170,000 different training courses", explains Michel Yahiel. The CPF is credited with 500 euros per year worked, with a maximum ceiling of 5000 euros.

Prohibit cold calling

However, the Ministry of Labor had stated that it wanted to fight against these frauds. In November 2021, Elisabeth Borne, Minister of Labour, announced to Le Parisien that he wanted to ban cold calling with an amendment to the Finance Bill.

A rejected amendment

But recently, the Senate, in opposition, rejected the Finance Bill for 2022, after a showdown with the government. And with, the amendment to fight against cold calling, without even discussing it, according to information from Le Parisien.

The daily reports that the Ministry of Labor would still like to ban these practices: "We are looking for a new window of opportunity to represent the amendment so that these nuisances which poison the lives of CPF holders, those of serious training centers, as well as the Caisse des dépôts which manages the scheme”.

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"If a law prohibiting cold calling were to pass, with the implementation of significant court decisions (fines for example), that would help us a lot, that's for sure", notes the director of social policies of the Caisse des Deposits.

Devices already in use

Methods to combat CPF fraud are already in place.

And since the beginning of January, the Ministry of Labour, with which Caisse des Dépôts works closely for the management of the CPF system, has introduced new rules.

The goal: “Certify the quality of organizations that offer training on the platform,” he adds.

The Qualiopi label makes it possible in particular to carry out this sorting, by establishing more selective criteria for choosing organisations. And an artificial intelligence system that scans files and notes anomalies, to eradicate “about two thirds of fraudulent organizations”.

How to protect yourself from fraud?

When you receive, by SMS, a link on which to click, do not click. Likewise on the phone, “hang up“, advises Michel Yahiel.

The government site My training account recommends never to communicate your identifiers (social security number and password).

If you have been the victim of a scam, you can fill out this form, available on the My Training Account site, to make a report.

It is also recommended to change your password immediately, to consult the information available on your training account, to keep the evidence, to contact the Info Scams platform for advice in the process, (on 0 805 805 817, free number) , and finally to file a complaint.

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