In a new survey on the scenario of scams and virtual fraud, made by Koin, fintech specialized in Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and in fraud prevention in e-commerce, the numbers show that consumer vulnerability is still a threat when shopping online. According to the research, 62,4% of Brazilians have already experienced some attempt of a virtual scam, most of them (41,8%) on shopping sites
Frauds via WhatsApp are also relevant, and represent 20,6% of the attempts, while the Pix scam was mentioned by 18,6% of respondents. Data theft (the so-called "phishing") was the threat mentioned by 13,9% of respondents, while 5,2% of consumers reported having experienced an attempted password theft
Lost money
Most victims reported having suffered losses between R$ 500 and R$ 1,000 (47,6%), with a second significant group losing values in the range of R$ 50 and 100 (19%). Already 15,5% of respondents reported having been defrauded in amounts exceeding R$ 2,000; 10,7% lost between R$ 1 thousand and R$ 1.500. Just 7,1% of consumers reported not having suffered financial loss
Where the scams happen
The survey showed, yet, that the absolute majority (92,3%) of the scam attempts occurred through mobile devices, mainly cell phones. Another relevant aspect is that 64,3% of the victims did not file a police report after being threatened, indicating a possible lack of confidence in solving the problem or unawareness of the importance of this record
The numbers from our survey reveal that the issue of fraud and virtual scams is a reality in the lives of Brazilians and can cause harm to both consumers and retailers, that also suffers financial impacts due to cyber crimes,"highlights Juana Angelim", Chief Operating Officer of Koin. "That's why, increasingly, it is necessary for companies to strengthen their online sales with robust anti-fraud systems, complete the executive. Only in 2023, Koin prevented R$ 240 million in fraud and 120 thousand fraudulent transactions
The survey considered the experience of 350 consumers from all regions of Brazil, in August, with a large part of the respondents from the Southeast (43,1%), followed by the Northeast (18,6%). The age range of the participants also showed a homogeneous distribution: from 35 to 44 years old (27,3%), 45 to 54 years (23,5%) and 55 to 64 years (22,5%)
