Pix coup and more: is online fraud excluded? Know and be safe

According to research, in the first half of 2023, Brazil recorded an estimated loss of BRL 392 million due to electronic fraud

“coup d’etat“, “Purchase confirmed”“phishing“, “false face”. The names sound strange, but they refer to online scams increasingly common in Brazil. According to research, in the first half of 2023, the country has already recorded an estimated loss of BRL 392 million due to electronic fraud.

A market study carried out by OLX extension and EnableMe, a fraud prevention and digital identity protection platform, mapped the top frauds committed this year in Brazil.

• The Confirmed Purchase scam leads the list, with 31%;
• Account invasion is the second most applied scam, with 25% of cases;
• Finally, data theft is the third scam that caused the most victims in the first half of this year, with a record 23% of cases.

What are the main online scams?

coup d’etat

Although not mentioned in the research, 15% of Brazilians have already been the victim of pix scams. This type of fraud has already affected three out of four Brazilians.

Scammers often contact you via messages or advertisements on social media and offer investment opportunities with exorbitant returns in exchange for a Pix for an unknown account.

When they get a significant amount from the victim, they cut off contact with her.

“Legit, solid investments do not promise unrealistically high returns in a short period of time. Preventing this type of scam means carefully researching any investment opportunity, verifying the sender’s information and being suspicious,” comments Fabio Assolini, director of Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team for Latin America.

The Pix heist also involves fake payments with deceptive bulletins and offers. In this case, hackers try to convince victims that they are making a legitimate payment when, in fact, they are transferring the money directly into the hands of the scammers.

Criminals create fake newsletters or come up with attractive offers, including special discounts, and demand payment via Pix, claiming to be the fastest and easiest method.

“To avoid falling into this trap, it is essential to carefully check the origin of the ticket or offer. Always confirm the information with reliable sources, such as the official websites of the companies or institutions involved”, says Assolini.

Purchase confirmed

Leading the ranking of the most used shots in the first half of 2023, the Purchase scam confirmed is an update of the old Empty Envelope scam, did you already know that?

It works like this: the scammer makes a fake payment slip with the victim’s data and sends it via email or messaging app, making the person believe that the sum has already been deposited. The victim then sends the product for delivery.

By the time the scammer catches sight of the scam, the scammer already has the product and stops responding to messages.

To avoid falling for this year’s main online scam, the experts listened to by the survey recommend that the product be delivered only after confirmation of the deposit in your bank account.

It is also important that the conversation with customers takes place through the chats of the platforms, i.e. avoiding negotiating through messaging applications.

Also, check the email domain (xx@companyname, for example) and always check the status of the agreement on the company’s website or app.

Learn about the top online scams and ways to protect yourself

Account hacking

The second most common scam in the first half of 2023, account hacking, usually occurs when the scammer tries to access online platform accounts using the login and password of leaked Internet bases.

OR Brazil was the world champion in data leakage for the second consecutive yearwith a staggering 2.8 billion sensitive data exposed, according to cybersecurity firm Axur.

Once accessed to the account, the hacker makes purchases or posts false advertisements for products that do not exist, keeping the amount paid.

To avoid falling for this scam, the research carried out by OLX and EnableMe guides never to repeat passwords on different sites and to use complex passwords, with many characters and using letters, numbers and special characters.

He also stresses the importance of changing passwords frequently and paying attention to alerts sent by platforms about attempts to access your account.

data theft

In this online scam, scammers use the opportunity to steal victims’ data for use in future scams. In this mode, hackers can use social engineering, system vulnerability and recurrent use of weak passwords.

To prevent this crime, do not share your mobile phone number, email address, CPF and bank details with third parties.

The survey warns you to be wary of links posted to cover job postings that aren’t on official company or recruiter pages. Conversations for negotiations should always be managed by the official chats of the companies; avoid migrating the dialogue to personal platforms, such as WhatsApp or your social networks, for example.

Tips to avoid falling for Tinder scams

The states of SP, RJ and MG are responsible for fraud

The Southeast region has the highest number of confirmed frauds, with the state of São Paulo leading with 41%, followed by Rio de Janeiro, 15%, and Minas Gerais, 9%, according to OLX and EnableMe.

As regards the profile of the victims, the survey found that 73% were men, against 27% women. In total, 70% of online scam victims are under the age of 31.

The research identified more than 3,000 online scams

The study analyzed data from the Brazilian digital market, including websites, apps and digital accounts from January to June 2023, based on approximately 20 million accounts opened on online platforms and 150 million registered devices, including mobile phones, tablets and computer.

3,289 scams involving internet purchases and sales were identified. Even with a drop of 9% compared to the first half of 2022, the survey among companies identified an average of 2.6 attempted theft of accounts per minute.

More than half of the fraud attempts occurred during business hours (51%), with Monday being the day of the week with the highest incidence (21%). An average of 11 fraud attempts using compromised devices, whether mobile phones or computers, were mapped every hour.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.