the Ministry of the Armed Forces warns of false recruitment sites using its graphic identity

French troops on the ground in Ukraine? The idea is not on the agenda, as Emmanuel Macron has reminded us on several occasions, but some are taking advantage of it to play on fears. Among them, fake government sites which use the graphic identity of the Ministry of the Armed Forces as part of a “disinformation campaign”alerts the ministry Thursday March 28.

The address of the site pointed out (sengage-ukraine.fr) was no longer accessible on Friday, as noted by franceinfo, but several backups are accessible on the Wayback Machine site. “The Army is recruiting and training 200,000 men to carry out operations in Ukraine”claims the homepage of the site, which claims to recruit fighters for infantry forces and special forces, for salaries “from 5 000 euros”.

Risks for personal data

The address sengage-ukraine.fr was purchased on March 15, as shown by sites allowing you to consult domain name registers, i.e. the day of Emmanuel Macron’s interview on the 8 p.m. news of France 2 and TF1 during which the president repeated that sending French troops was not “not [son] wish”but that “all these options are possible” in the event of an extension of the Russian offensive. The purchaser of the site went through an intermediary company to hide his personal information, as is often the case in this type of campaign, and the Legal notices or General conditions of use sections refer to the legitimate pages of the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

The site also presents forms to provide certain personal data, such as one’s email address – data which could then be used in hacking or identity theft campaigns. For those who would really like to join the Army, the ministry reminds that there is only one official address: sengage.fr.