Datafolha: 30% in SP do not think Pix is ​​safe

With 130 million users, Pix has become popular with Brazilians, but the perception of its security is still far from unanimous. In the state of São Paulo, 30% find the payment method not at all safe, while 47% consider it a little safe.

Those who say they feel very confident in the system are a minority, just 21%, as shown by Datafolha.

The survey heard 1,806 people in 61 municipalities in São Paulo between June 28th and 30th. The margin of error is plus or minus two percentage points.

The sentiment of respondents reflects the recent explosion of crimes involving Pix. Since its creation by the Central Bank, in November 2020, various types of scams and frauds have been created by specialized gangs.

In most cases, criminals take advantage of the practicality and agility of the tool — which allows real-time transfers — to make their victims.

Between April and May of this year, cybersecurity firm PSafe saw a more than 350% increase in Pix scam attempts compared to February and March.

In these two months alone, the company says it has blocked more than 424,000 attempted scams, which corresponds to almost 7,000 fraudulent attacks per day, 280 per hour and 4 per minute.

The feeling of insecurity, however, increases with age. According to Datafolha, of respondents aged between 16 and 24, only 9% consider Pix unsafe. The majority (55%) say the tool is somewhat secure, while 36% are quite trusting.

The scenario is quite different in the age group above 60 years. In this cut, the largest portion (51%) thinks the payment platform is not safe. Only 8% believe it is very safe and 35% a little.

A similar phenomenon occurs when the education cut-off is observed. The lower the level of education, the greater the fear.

Half of the respondents who have only completed elementary school consider Pix not to be safe. This proportion drops to 27% among people who have completed high school and drops to 16% among those who have higher education.

Security rules

In November of last year, a year after the launch of Pix, new Central Bank rules came into effect to reinforce user safety. Among them are the precautionary block and the special return of values.

One of the amendments established that a suspected fraud operation is held by banks for up to 72 hours. Instead of making the credit automatically, the institution responsible for the account that receives the amounts makes a preventive block of resources.

In addition, the BC included the determination of a limit of R$ 1,000 for transactions on digital channels between individuals carried out at night, between 8 pm and 6 am.

According to Febraban, operations by Pix are fully traceable and, in the event of irregularities, all those involved will be identified and will be held accountable for the crimes.

How to avoid scams with Pix

In the special refund mechanism, the customer who was the victim of a scam can ask for their money back. For this, it is necessary to register a report and immediately notify the institution through the official service channel, such as SAC (Customer Service) or Ombudsman.

Other tips to avoid falling for scams are: protect the bank application password and do not write it down on paper; decrease the amount that can be transferred via Pix; check the data of who will receive the transfer; do not click on suspicious links to register or make payments; be wary of benefits, discounts and income that need Pix.