A WhatsApp scam that asks people to vote for a young dancer is claiming victims in Paris and the wider Île-de-France region, according to France 3 Paris Île-de-France. The regional broadcaster warns that the message can let a hacker take over your account and your personal data.
What happened
France 3 Paris Île-de-France, the Paris regional service of the public broadcaster France Télévisions, has published a warning about a new scam on WhatsApp. Its headline says this arnaque (French for scam or con) “can cost you very dearly”.
The message starts with an ordinary request. In French it opens: “Salut, pourrais-tu voter pour Eliska ? C’est la fille de mes amis.” In English: “Hi, could you vote for Eliska? She’s my friends’ daughter.” The broadcaster describes it as a call to support “a little dancer”.
The danger is in who seems to send it. France 3 says the message comes from a sender who does not seem unknown to you. Because it looks like a contact you recognise, people are more likely to trust it and act on it without thinking.
The broadcaster says the scam is more dangerous than it looks. Answering it can allow a pirate (the French word for a hacker) to take control of your WhatsApp account and your data. France 3 reports that the scam is making victims, particularly in Paris and its region.
The article, written by Toky Nirhy-Lanto, describes the situation in which people tend to get caught: you come home tired after a day at work, scroll through a pile of notifications on your phone and read this one without a critical eye. A picture caption in the report adds that these few lines can be “formidable” for anyone who does not pay enough attention.
What it means for you
If you live in Paris or elsewhere in Île-de-France and use WhatsApp, this scam may reach you. Many international residents rely on WhatsApp to keep in touch with family abroad, flatmates, colleagues and neighbourhood or parents’ groups, so a message that seems to come from a familiar contact can easily blend in.
The main lesson from the France 3 report is simple: be suspicious of messages asking you to vote for someone, even when they appear to come from someone you know. A familiar name or a friendly tone does not prove the message is real. The broadcaster’s warning is specifically about requests to support a child or a dancer in some kind of vote.
The report points to the moment of risk as the one when you are tired and reading quickly. If you get a message like this, stop and look at it carefully before you tap anything or reply. Take extra care if the request seems slightly out of character for the person it claims to come from.
The source does not say how much money victims have lost or how many people have been affected. It describes the risk as losing control of your account and your data, which is why it calls the scam potentially very costly. France 3 says it has published advice on how to protect yourself, and its full article is the best place to read those recommendations.
If you read French with difficulty, it helps to remember the opening words of the message. “Salut, pourrais-tu voter pour…” (“Hi, could you vote for…”) is the phrase France 3 tells readers to watch for. If a message in your WhatsApp starts this way, treat it with caution.
Source: France 3 Paris Île-de-France
Sources
- France 3 Paris Île-de-France: "Salut, pourrais-tu voter pour…" : attention à cette nouvelle arnaque WhatsApp qui peut vous coûter très cher, accessed 27 October 2026
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