Scams are carried out by criminals pretending to be banks; Learn how to avoid fraud

A group of criminals is scamming caller ID, pretending to be bank branches and carrying out scams.Â

Several citizens have received calls from scammers, believing they are from the bank number, where they have an active account. After all, the number that appears during the call is the same as the bank branch.Â

Some victims of coup attempts

In the city of Santa Cruz do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul, a sales consultant, who preferred to remain anonymous, believed that the call received was, in fact, from the bank. The victim had the number saved in her contact book.Â

According to the consultant, the recording, or automatic response, presents the same voiceover and the same options available to the customer, which are used by the bank. A scammer would have asked if she had made purchases and payments via bank slips, in the amount of R$16 thousand, and to cancel the expenses and receive the amount back, a transfer to another current account would need to be made. The consultant followed the instructions, and ended up being a victim.Â

“Not only did I lose part of my savings, but there were also purchases on my credit card, I had to pay off the credit card to avoid becoming a ball of money. snow. I had to take out a loan to be able to pay.”reported.Â

In São Paulo, a teacher, who also did not want to be identified, lost R$72,000 during a scam, in which she was instructed to go to an ATM, and then provided his bank details.Â

“I was about to exchange a vehicle and, simply, that's why the money was released that day, which I was already going to exchange. And on the same day it was released, they finished everything in 10 minutes”he lamented.Â

The team that carried out the report for G1 also received a similar call. The call had a bank number.

The journalist listened to the recording, in which confirmation of a purchase made online was requested. The scammer indicated a purchase worth 4,790 reais, and then made the commands available. “If you don't recognize it, type 2 and speak to one of our representatives immediately.”A

When dialing option 2, the reporter was answered by another scammer, who also asked about the purchase, which was denied. Just as it was directed to the sales consultant, the scammer made the supposed cancellation available, which was authorized by the reporter, and then a password was requested. When the scammer realized the wrong number, the call was terminated.Â

How call center scam can be identified

According to lawyer and cybercrime specialist, José Milagre, these gangs use applications that imitate bank numbers. “These numbers that people receive, calls that are identical, are the same, are the numbers of official institutions, they are falsified through programs and systems that allow me to change the Call originator ID, including the number of a financial institution”he explained.Â

According to the National Telecommunications Agency, in April this year, a tool will be implemented that will block tampered calls.Â

_{Criminals approach victims through phone calls (Photo: reproduction/G1)}

Febraban's deputy director of services, Valter Faria, explains that banks do not use this type of number, and always try to work in a more passive way, that is, waiting for the customer to call at their call centers.Â

The director also states that, in the case of connections identified as banks, the possible victim must, before any action or provision of information or data, about their banking credentials, be following the instructions to hang up the call, and then make a call to the bank where you have an active account.Â

Featured photo: call center scams (reproduction/G1)Â