On Tuesday, shares of French construction company Vinci SA plummeted by 20% just for several minutes, after a number of media outlets published a fake piece of news saying that the company’s financial director was dismissed, Interfax reports today.
The fake press release reads that the top manager, Christian Labeyrie, was fired due to accounting irregularities. The paper was sent to the media from fictional e-mail and contained a link to an online platform imitating the genuine website of the company.
Also, a false phone number was indicated in the press release to contact a spokesman for Vinci SA. Moreover, afterwards, the ill-minded persons published a partial contradiction of the story on the same website, causing even more confusion among market actors.
