PIX scams are the subject of study and could result in losses of US$ 635.6 million

Created in 2020, PIX is the most widely used money transfer method in the country. Despite its practicality and security, the system is a target for financial scams and is expected to result in losses of at least US$635.6 million by 2027. The study was conducted by ACI Worldwide, in partnership with GlabalData.

PIX scammers use multiple accounts to make it difficult to track the money. Beforehand, the user is persuaded to make the transfer. The reasons can be as varied as possible. Cleber Martins, vice president of ACI Worldwide – a payment systems company – highlights the problem faced by banks (via G1):

“What we see from banks is that they have complete control over who is starting the transaction, which account or cell phone, for example, and everything else. But the problem is that we now have a serious situation, where customers themselves are starting the transaction.”

How does it happen?

There are several known forms of scams using PIX. They are carried out by convincing or cloning the number. In this way, it is possible for the criminal to pretend to be a bank employee, a company employee or someone close to the user's family.

According to ACI, the most common scam in Brazil (27% of the total) involves a request for an advance payment for a product or service. The top three are requests to buy an item (20%) and requests for investment (17%), whether based on a product or company.

_{Theft of financial information is a theme in PIX scams (Photo: reproduction/stevepb/Pixabay)}

Prevention and how to protect yourself

It is always important to be alert and suspicious. There are awareness campaigns on communication channels, with banks investing “massively” according to Febraban. In fact, Adriano Volpini, from the company’s Prevention Committee, commented on the importance of taking precautions (via G1):

“Stop, think and be suspicious. The customer should always be suspicious when they receive a message from a contact saying they are in an emergency situation.”

Therefore, it is important that users do not click on suspicious links received via email, SMS or WhatsApp. In addition, activating two-factor authentication on WhatsApp ensures greater security. It is also worth noting that no bank will contact users asking for a transfer or the installation of an application.

Featured Photo: PIX is the most used transfer method in Brazil (reproduction/Marcello Casal Jr./Agência Brasil)