On the social network, it is possible to obtain fake work stoppages made to measure. Counterfeiters do not hesitate to usurp the identity of real doctors, sometimes without the knowledge of the buyers.
Thierry* is distraught. This general practitioner has around sixty work stoppages established in his name. However, he never signed them. In September 2022, the practitioner received several calls from employers, mutuals and health insurance funds. He is asked to confirm the authenticity of work stoppages apparently coming from his cabinet and containing multiple inconsistencies. Thierry realizes that his identity has been stolen.
“I fell from the clouds (…) It’s something very violent”, he testifies to franceinfo. Thierry lives in the Paris region, but these judgments were written for people living “in all of France”, “from Lille, Lyons, Marseilles”… Intrigued, the doctor conducts his own investigation. “I saw that on social networks, you could buy fake work stoppages with the names of real doctors.”
“Signed and stamped by a real doctor”
Just type “sick leave” in the search engine of Snapchat, a social network popular with 15-49 year olds, to discover a multitude of dubious accounts. With the backing of promotional “stories”, counterfeiters offer work stoppages “signed and stamped by a real doctor”with “choice of dates”send by email “under 15 minutes” or pick up on site. Prices range from 15 to 30 euros.
/2023/03/07/64074fdf60c4a_diptyque.jpg)
By pretending to be a potential customer, franceinfo was able to exchange with several sellers. They all work the same way. All you have to do is give your identity, your Social Security number, the duration of the sick leave desired, or even its reason. After asking the place of residence, one of them answers: “It’s good. I have a doctor in Paris.” An ambiguous statement that could imply that it has a network of partner doctors. The seller then offers a shipment by email against bank transfer.
A real care sheet for 15 euros
Another seller plays the sympathy card, leaving numerous voicemails. “I am legit, I am square, there is no scam, there is no scam. My goal is to satisfy people. If they are not satisfied, it does not does not interest me”, he says, comparing himself to other counterfeiters. He is very available when franceinfo asks him for a personal delivery and even leaves the choice of the establishment issuing the judgment (medical office, clinic, hospital, etc.).
The meeting is fixed at a tram stop, in the Paris region. Before showing up, the counterfeiter took care to ask for a photo of his client, because “he’s in paranoid mode”. He arrives with a young child. The care sheet he gives us is blank with, as promised, the stamp of a real doctor. The document appears authentic. The seller even explains how to fill it out and details the use of the three sections: that intended for the patient, that to be sent to Social Security, and that to be transmitted to the employer. All for 15 euros.
“Next time, I can deliver to your home, but it’s more expensive. Today, my delivery man was not available.”
A fake sick leave seller on Snapchatat franceinfo
Reached by telephone, the general practitioner whose name appears on the care sheet laments: “It’s a horror, it’s a disaster. I had an industrial quantity. More people who come to the practice, thinking that it was me who made the stop. They did not understand anything, they think it’s telemedicine.”
Several million damages for the Sécu
Social Security estimates the damage due to falsified work stoppages by insured persons at 3.4 million euros in 2021. In the event of identity theft, the doctor “must both approach the police or the gendarmerie, but also inform the CPAM, which may investigate the databases of the Health Insurance, in order to detect possible fraudulent work stoppages and carry out investigations”recommends the organization.
The latter also carries out medical and administrative checks when the arrests last several months. It reserves the right to suspend the daily allowances, even to impose financial penalties and to transmit information to justice when a fraud has been established. Thierry followed all these steps. Several months after filing his complaint, he made a bitter observation: “That has not changed. Every day, I have Social Security contacting me to ask me to confirm or deny false work stoppages.”
How to stem this phenomenon? For the doctor, retouching a stop on Photoshop or even stealing a care sheet is not so difficult. According to him, it should “emphasize the remote transmission of judgments, remove or more strictly regulate the drafting of work stoppages in paper format or via teleconsultation platforms, monitor and control social networks”.
In October 2022, a resident of Val-d’Oise who sold false sick leaves on social networks was tried for fraudulent alteration of the truth in writing and use of forgery in writing. According to The Val-d’Oise Gazettehe was fined 1,500 euros.
*The first name has been changed to preserve the anonymity of the person concerned.