With the proximity of Black Friday, the risks of financial scams are increasing, which is why this date is considered by many to be the ‘Christmas’ of the scammers, as it is when they earn more money. This date shows itself as a champion in scams because it unites two “explosive” ingredients: the consumer’s desire to buy something at a much lower market price and, on the other hand, the scammer’s desire to earn money.
In this scenario of great concern, it is necessary to be very careful to face fraudsters and to protect retailers and consumers from the attacks that may occur from these criminals, the path for companies, technology service providers and consumers is to have an answer every time faster, minimizing the financial impacts of potential scams.
Today there are many types of scams in the market, however, the most common on Black Friday is also one of the oldest on the Internet: phishing, is a technique used by data thieves to trick customers and steal their information without realizing it. They create fake websites, often clones of big stores, and spread these email addresses via email or chain messages from messaging apps like WhatsApp.
So, as in this example, on Black Friday care should be enormous, as we suffer from an avalanche of promotions, making it difficult to differentiate between what is real and what is a scam. By wanting to get along and take advantage of a huge discount, consumers can put their personal data and credit card at risk.
But, how to protect yourself from these situations? Here are some basic guidelines:
1 – Be careful with your data – personal information such as phone number, CPF, address and number of cards, among others, should be a source of great concern. Avoid putting this data in any form and always worry if the site you are going to register is really secure;
2 – Be careful when clicking – I know the impulse can be big, as the call is attractive, but only click on links if you are sure that this one is safe. For this, check if on the left of the website address there is an image of a lock, which means security, also check if the website has the acronym ‘https’ in the web address. Always look for the official pages;
3- Find out about the store’s reputation – today in any quick search you can have an evaluation of a company or store, but be careful, prioritize Procon, consumer rights portals or Complain Here to do your research, beware of sites that change just one letter from a famous name or one that has different extensions;
4- Be careful with your passwords – always try to have different passwords for cards, websites and registrations, and also try to change constantly. Avoid simpler data like name and 123 in sequence and date of birth, etc…
5 – Prioritize payment by credit card – for online purchases this is the safest, as it simplifies cancellation, allowing the customer to dispute the charge and request a refund of the amount and identify possible fraud. Avoid bank transfer or bank transfer.
6 – Avoid extraordinary conditions – ‘when the miracle is too much’, it is essential to be suspicious, proposals with sensational discounts are the most used for scams, so don’t believe in these situations;
7 – Always update your antivirus – always have antivirus updated to protect the operating systems of computers and smartphones, this makes it difficult to install malicious programs, also make constant scans.
8 – Seek reliable sources of information – it is important to always be smart and updated about new scams, but always seek information from reliable sources, remembering that WhatsApp groups are the biggest disseminators of Fake News
Afonso Morais – Founding Partner of Morais Advogados Associados and specialist in combating financial fraud and recovering corporate credit.
Source: Paulo Ucelli – Alliance Group Consulting
Fonte da Matéria : https://aw-journal.com/black-friday-is-scammers-christmas-see-8-ways-to-protect-yourself-brasilia-web/
