Economic indicators

Brazil has 4700 fraud attempts per day, points Serasa

06/10/2016

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For Brazil Economic

Indicator registered 587,500 attempts from January to April this year, down 11% compared to 2015

phone segment is the most affected, accounting for 41.9% of all attempts to fraudeThinkstock

In Brazil there are about 4700 per day identity fraud attempts, according to Serasa Experian Indicator of Fraud Attempts. In April, there were 141,008 attempts in which personal data are used by criminals to execute business under misrepresentation or obtain credit with the intention of not honoring payments.

The indicator registered 587,518 attempts at fraud from January to April this year. Compared to the same period last year, when the index was 660,443, a drop of 11%.

Economists Serasa Experian, with the current growth of unemployment and the economic recession, is less the number of people seeking retail or credit, which automatically reduces the number of potential targets of fraudsters to capture information. However, the number of blows applied daily attempts in Brazil is still considered very high.

The line segment is the most affected, accounting for 41.9% of all identified fraud attempts in April (59,143). This means that personal data of consumers are used by third parties for opening mobile phone bills or buying appliances, for example. In relation to March 2016, there was a decrease of 9.5% in fraud attempts in this segment.

If fraud in the telecommunications business to be successful, it acts as a "gateway" to the fraudsters can apply higher value moves in other sectors of the economy. The scammers usually buy phones to generate a proof of residence and thus open bank accounts to pick up checkbooks, apply for credit cards and make bank loans on behalf of others.

The services segment comes next in the ranking of sectors with more fraud attempts identified by the indicator in April (41,117), representing 29.2% of the total. Compared to March 2016, the decline was 14.0%. The third most affected segment is banks and financial institutions, with 19.9% (28,129). Compared to March 2016, there was a decrease of 9.4%.

Major coup attempts identified by the indicator

1) mobile shopping with false or stolen documents;

2) Issue of credit cards: the scammer asks for a credit card using a false or stolen identification, leaving the "account" for the victim and the damage to the card issuer;

3) Electronic Financing (Retail) - the de facto purchase an electronic well (TV, stereo, cell phone etc.) using a false or stolen identification, leaving the bill for the victim;

4) Account Opening: scammer opens a bank account using a false identification or stolen, leaving the "account" for the victim. In this case, the "chain" of offered products (cards, checks, pre-approved loans) potentiates possible harm to the victims, banks and trade;

5) Car Purchase: scammer buys the car using a false or stolen identification, leaving the "account" for the victim;

6) Starting a Business: stolen data can also be used at the opening of companies, which would serve as a 'front' for the application of scams on the market.

Check out 10 tips for consumers to protect themselves from fraud

In the physical world

1) Do not lose sight of your identification documents when requested for admission protocols in certain environments or any business; likewise not let shops attendants and other establishments take their bank cards away from their presence under the pretext of making the payment;

2) Take care when entering your password debit / credit card at the time of making payments, especially in the presence of strangers;

3) Do not let the numbers of your documents when filling out coupons for sweepstakes or promotions stores.

In the virtual world

4) When you join a site, ensure that you have security clearance. Simply check the http address comes with an "s" at the end (https). There are also certificates that activate a highlighted green in the browser bar;

5) Do not make entries on sites that are not reliable;

6) Beware of sites that advertise jobs or products for much lower than the market price;

7) Do not share personal data on social networks that can help scammers to pass you by;

8) Update the virus from your computer, reducing the risk of having your personal information stolen by spies files;

9) Avoid carrying out any financial transaction using computers connected to public networks Internet;

10) When using shared computers, check if logged off of your accounts (email, internet banking, etc.).

Source: Economic Brazil

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