In recent years, fraud involving banks has increased dramatically. According to a 2024 Serasa Experian study, two in every 10 Brazilians have already suffered from depression. Among scams perpetrated by criminals, scams range from verifying purchases to paying a fake bill. But now there is also the fraud of false detective work.The new deception is so strong that the Brazilian Biodiversity Federation (Febraban) issued an alert to prevent more people from becoming victims. Understand what this scam is and how to protect yourself!
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Don't fall for these scams! 10 common online scams for seniors Discover the latest “Wrong Pix” scam – and learn how to protect yourself See what to do if you fall victim to WhatsApp's “new fake number” What is the new fraudulent scam Fraud investigation is a . new schemes, in which suspects contact bank customers, claiming that the location of their bank – or even the administrator – is under investigation.
To appear authentic during the scam, criminals even send a false police report. Typically, the fraudster announces that a banking department (or regulator) is being investigated for selling account holder data or other large-scale fraud.
Scammers often call your smartphone from an unknown number. The victim was later informed that to protect his money, he needed to transfer the funds to the beneficiaries he identified while the investigation was ongoing. It turns out that these famous people are the scammers themselves.
However, the innovation of criminals has already been noticed by large financial institutions. For example, Bradesco released a statement on November 11, 2024 about the fraud, informing its customers.
How to protect yourself from fraudulent surveys The Brazilian Banking Association (Febraban) issued a warning about fraudulent surveys and announces how to protect yourself from this type of fraudulent survey. In the guidelines, the Federation warns that banks may not, under any circumstances, establish relationships with customers for this purpose nor request transfers to other accounts.
Bradesco also warns that neither the bank nor the authorities will contact us to request personal information, passwords, security keys, registration or system updates, or to request financial services.
Criminals demand personal and credit information while defrauding bank customers. So the bottom line: if you think the call source is a scam, hang up! Again, if you have any doubts about such a relationship, get in touch through the official channels of the financial institution where you are, but do not make any transfers to third parties, no institution will request such a procedure.
While it's common for employers to contact you to confirm suspicious activity, recruiters generally don't ask for personal details, passwords, system updates, security keys, currencies, or activities. Therefore, be careful not to reveal such information during the meeting.