More than 400 online scams are blocked per hour in Brazil -survey

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With the proximity of Black Friday and Christmas, the guidance for those who intend to shop online is to be increasingly careful to avoid falling into financial scams.

This is because a survey by PSafe, a company specializing in cybersecurity, shows that more than 150 million Brazilians have already been victims of online fraud in 2021.

According to experts, the number should register an even higher increase in the last months of the year with the approach of commemorative dates in the country.

“The upcoming essential dates in the economy lights up an alert for customers and companies. The volume of scams is very high in Brazil. From financial scams alone, security companies have managed to block 3.4 million attempts.

The number represents an average of 11,000 scams per day and 400 per hour,” says an excerpt from the PSafe survey.

To prevent scams from happening, companies specializing in cybersecurity have given tips on how customers can avoid fraud while shopping online on the upcoming holidays:

Criminals usually act mainly via SMS, email, and social networks.

Among the strategies used by scammers are: supposed unlocking of the bank card, password update request, false offer of account upgrade and benefits in transactions, always using the name of large institutions, or asking for a supposed update of the online banking app, which installs a fake application.

Other risks for individuals are that criminals hack into digital bank accounts, taking the victim’s credentials and paying bills, bills, loans, and transfers.