A fraudulent phishing email is currently in circulation, purporting to be from the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince. Here’s how to protect yourself.  

In recent days, an email claiming to be from the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince has been landing in inboxes linked to the Principality of Monaco. It has been sent indiscriminately to various email addresses, with some getting through the anti-spam filters of email providers.  

This is a “phishing” scam campaign intending to defraud prospective victims who inadvertently respond to the message.  

WHAT IT SAYS 

The email is poorly written and should be the first clue that it is not legitimate. It tells the recipient they are implicated in a crime and ask that they open a PDF file as well as to respond directly to the email.  

The text refers to alleged “criminal proceedings for acts of a sexual nature” brought against the receiver of the message.  

WHAT TO DO 

Firstly, do not reply in any way and do not open the PDF. Immediately forward the message to cyber@gouv.mc and block the sender from your account. Then delete the message.  

The government has responded to the scam by reminding the public that the Carabinieri never send such messages, and that the only email address legitimate summons would come from would stem from an email address from xxx@gouv.mc. 

The sender’s email address can be verified by touching the sender field on a smartphone or by right-clicking with the mouse on a computer. The fraudsters are clever and many use an address similar to the real one, so look for discrepancies such as an added letter or an inappropriately placed dot or character if you receive such a message.  

Make sure you’re never left out of the conversation.

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