Digital frauds continue to multiply and generate billion-dollar losses for Brazilian e-commerce

The digital era, marked by increasing connectivity, brought with it a series of benefits for society. However, the dark side of this reality is the proliferation of digital scams that continue to multiply in the online environment. So much so that Brazil has established itself as one of the main targets of digital fraud in Latin America, with a worrying increase in recent years. The losses in Brazilian e-commerce reached R$ 8,5 million, 64% of companies have already been victims of cyber attacks, according to the latest research from the Digital Security Barometer – from MasterCard

That is to say, every aware company needs to understand the details of how these crimes have evolved and what the main challenges are to combat them, and this is where companies like PH3A come in, an authority in technology, company dedicated to the development of solutions, like DataFraud, that has helped to mitigate the volume of electronic fraud occurrences

But, after all, what are the main types of digital scams today? Paulo Cesar Costa, CEO and founder of PH3A reveals

• PhishingDeception through emails, text messages or fake websites to obtain personal and financial information. That is to say, the received message contains some link as a trap
• MalwareInstallation of malicious programs on computers or mobile devices to spy, steal data or hijack systems. So, once again the link loads a trap
• Соціальна інженеріяPsychological manipulation to induce people to provide confidential information or to take actions that benefit criminals. Thus, the most innocent or good-hearted people end up falling for scams
• Attacks on social networksScams that exploit interactions on social media to obtain personal or financial data. In this case, social media is also a fertile ground for criminals to promote their digital scams
• Attacks on messaging appsThose who take advantage of messaging apps to commit scams, like the false kidnapping. Logo, messaging apps can also be a source of fraudulent communication that deceives users

And what factors have driven the increase in scams? According to Paulo Cesar, there are several factors that contribute to the increase in digital scams, among them

• Popularization of the internetThe increasing use of the internet and mobile devices makes the population more vulnerable to cyber attacks. That is to say, with more use of the Internet, more room for criminals to act
• Lack of awarenessMany people are still unaware of the risks of the internet and do not take appropriate security measures. So, carelessness becomes a dangerous component
• Sophistication of criminalsDigital criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are using more elaborate techniques to deceive their victims. Thus, the intelligence of Internet use ends up happening on the side of security and also of crime
• Security vulnerabilitiesSecurity vulnerabilities in systems and applications can be exploited by criminals to gain access to personal and financial data. Logo, all types of security technology should be considered to anticipate criminals

About the consequences of digital coups, the executive of PH3A reports that there is a wide variety of frauds in the online environment, with great reach power. Thus, digital scams can cause various harm to the victims, how

• Financial lossThe main loss is the loss of money, that can be significant in some cases
• Damage to reputationThe disclosure of personal information can compromise the victim's reputation
• Emotional disordersDigital scam victims may suffer emotional distress, like anxiety and depression

Costa still shares what to do to protect yourself, starting with the adoption of some security measures

• Keep your software updatedKeep your operating system, antivirus and other software updated to fix vulnerabilities
• Create strong and unique passwordsUse strong and unique passwords for each online account and avoid reusing passwords
• Be wary of suspicious emails and messagesDo not click on links or open attachments in emails from unknown senders
• Check the authenticity of the websitesMake sure that the website you are accessing is secure before entering personal information
• Use a quality antivirusInstall a good antivirus and keep it updated
• Keep your operating system updatedKeep your operating system updated to fix vulnerabilities
• Do not share personal information on social mediaAvoid sharing too much personal information on social media

And it also emphasizes: "among the solutions to ensure data security and avoid significant losses, it is necessary to make use of Big Data systems, that allow for the monitoring and cross-referencing of data in a permanent and automatic way to validate data or abort potentially fraudulent situations, explain the CEO of PH3A. For example, fraud prevention systems allow to identify if the e-commerce buyer is themselves and not impersonating someone else. And in case of doubts, create a quiz with some questions of the type, what car did you have 5 years ago, what job did you have 5 years ago, who is your neighbor on the right side of your residence, what sites did you visit yesterday etc. Questions that no fraudster can answer accurately

To close, the businessman adds that it is a fact that authorities and companies also have a fundamental role in the prevention and combat of scams, and the technologies, including data, emerge as a great ally, because it has the role of making automatic information checks

"And this routine is a great advantage for any and all electronic retail", concluded Paulo Cesar Costa