Attempts at fraudulent online sales increased 4.5 times from January to August

E-commerce experienced a big rise during the pandemic, and with the arrival of Black Friday, the sector, which took a step back due to the economic crisis, has already heated up in recent weeks. As a result, there’s a warning to consumers about a type of cybercrime that’s also on the rise: Fake e-commerce sales attempts, those in which “don’t miss” offers, are actually thieves trying to get at consumers’ money without delivering what’s advertised.

According to the Censo de Fraude study conducted by Konduto, the anti-fraud vertical of analytical intelligence company Boa Vista, its protection services avoided almost 13 million fraud attempts in Brazilian e-commerce between January and August 2022. The company estimates that around 6 .8 billion BRL losses in online shopping and digital payments. The number of blocked “fake” purchase attempts was proportionally 4.5 times higher than that recorded in the first eight months of 2021.

In the recent boom in e-commerce, you can get an idea of ​​the scale of criminal activity. In the five days before Father’s Day in August of this year, Konduto says it avoided fraud in the amount of R$ 1.5 billion, an amount 85% higher than in the same period in 2021.

On what days and hours do fraudulent attempts to sell online most often occur?

The study found that 78% of fraud attempts analyzed and avoided by Kondut’s service occurred in Brazil between Monday and Friday — a percentage calculated from the total number of analyzed offers, both authentic and “fake.” 22% were reported on Saturdays and Sundays. “It is interesting for a fraudster that his action goes unnoticed by security systems. Buying on a weekday, when there is more movement, is a way of trying to camouflage. The more similar the fraudster’s behavior is to what the customer has in common, the harder it is to identify the fraud,” explains Tom Canabarro , Boa Vista’s anti-fraud director.

According to the survey, bandits’ favorite time is between 18:00 and 23:00, and 32.64% of fraud attempts were blocked. In the period from 12:00 to 17:00, there were the most blocked shots, with a percentage of 38.08 percent. The time with the highest financial amount of avoided losses was the range from 12:00 to 17:00.

As for the device with the highest frequency of attempted fraudulent online sales, in the eight months of this year’s survey, 73% of the fraud analyzed in Brazil came from transactions on mobile devices. In terms of financial volume, the percentage in mobile phones and tablets drops to 68%, while computers and laptops appear with 32%.

How to protect yourself from fraudulent online sales attempts?

Have you found a product that you love so much lately at an attractive price, and the inevitable offer has almost expired? Think twice before closing a purchase or providing information. See below for tips on how to avoid becoming the next victim of fraudulent e-commerce sales:

• Research the offer well, make sure of its origin and look for more information about who is selling;
• Be wary of heavily discounted promotions or dubious offers;
• Give preference to well-known websites and always check that the website address is correct. To be safe, do not click on links and type the address into your browser;
• Always use a virtual card for online purchases;
• Be wary of sites that have Pix-only payment methods;
• Never click on promotional links received via email, SMS, social media and WhatsApp;
• Be wary of SMS messages informing you of transactions you do not recognize and asking you to call 0800 Central;
• If you receive a call, hang up immediately and contact your account manager, preferably on another phone. Remember that the bank never asks for your information over the phone;
• If you are going to pay for the purchase with a receipt, check in the bank’s application or website who the beneficiary company is that appears at the time of payment of the receipt. If the name is different from the name of the brand or company where the purchase was made, the transaction should not be completed.

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