Learn to avoid scams using Pix

With 118 million users, Pix, an instant payment system, has fallen into popular taste and the crosshairs of criminals and scammers. Data from the Central Bank show that, in April, according to the most recent statistics, the modality had 109.8 million registered individuals and 8.5 million legal entities.

In the same month, the total number of registered keys reached 438.5 million in the country. In March, 1.6 billion operations were carried out involving the modality. With its popularity, Pix becomes one of the main targets of criminals who steal or steal cell phones or manage to hack the account over the internet.

The internet security company PSafe claims that, from January to April of this year, more than 3 million attempts at financial scams were blocked in Brazil, which corresponds to more than 25,000 attempts per day. The stats involve hits in general, including those that target Pix.

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.

Instead of making the credit automatically, the institution responsible for the account that receives the suspicious amounts performs a preventive block of resources for up to 72 hours.

“The option will allow the institution to carry out a more robust fraud analysis, increasing the probability of recovery of resources by paying users who are victims of some crime”, says the BC.

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.

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”.

THE Sheet listened to bank security experts and the top five banks and gathered top security tips for those using Pix.

Here are five tips to protect your Pix

1 -Be careful with bank app password

• Pix is ​​an operation carried out through the banking network and many of the fraudulent transactions occur after theft, theft or invasion of the cell phone by criminals.
• Those who have a bank app installed should be very careful with their password, which should not have easily identifiable numbers such as documents or dates of birth, for example.
• Never write down your bank password in your cell phone notebook
• When using the app, always log out
• Banking apps do not store passwords and transactions

2 – Decrease the amount that can be transferred by Pix

• Banks have specific Pix locks depending on the amount and time
• Operations over BRL 1,000 at night need to be cleared by the customer and there is a deadline for a response to this release request
• However, the citizen himself can decrease and increase the bank transfer limits at any time, including Pix, quickly
• Experts recommend having a very low transfer limit per Pix, which limits and makes it difficult for criminals to act.

3 – Always confirm the data of who will receive the Pix

• Before finishing the transfer operation via Pix, confirm the key of the recipient
• Also review the values; if you make a mistake in the transaction, it is possible to get your money back, but this takes time and will require an investigation by your bank

4 – Beware of transfers

• Do not make transfers to friends or relatives without confirming that the request for values ​​is being made by the person himself

• One of the most common scams involving Pix is ​​the fake cell phone account, when the scammer somehow steals the person’s photo and, with another number, starts asking friends and family for money.

5 – Never click on links to register the Pix key

• Never click on links received by email, WhatsApp, social networks or SMS to register the Pix key
• The key registration must always be done through the bank’s website or application, or at bank branches
• Never share the verification code received when you sign up for the Pix key
• Do not make any type of registration on Pix from phone calls or WhatsApp contacts, as this practice is fraudulent

Sources: Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), Serasa, PSafe and banks