Convenience and agility are a few of the benefits expected with the entry of Pix, the new instant payment method developed by the Central Bank of Brazil, which will be available to the population as of November 16th. But the question that remains is: is Pix safe?
This concern is raised every time a new payment method, tool, or platform is introduced to the market and to the population. For those questioning if Pix is safe, the short answer is yes!
But this doesn’t mean that the payment method won’t be a target for fraud. Phishing and social engineering techniques are still an issue, no matter how the consumer chooses to pay.
What frauds can occur with Pix?
The registration of Pix keys was initiated on October 5th. The Central Bank of Brazil informed it has already registered more than 30 million Pix keys in the first few days.
Although this has sparked enthusiasm in the financial market, the registration of Pix keys has also shown itself as an opportunity for fraudsters: by October 9th, more than 70 fake domains had already been created for the purpose of fraud, according to the cybersecurity company Kaspersky.
Addresses such as chavepix.me, pagarpix.com, and pixempresas.com are a few among the fake domains. Through a link, forwarded to the victims through SMS or email, fraudsters have access to sensitive data provided by users themselves or through malicious archives that the victims download on their devices.
This is just one of the infinite fraud scenarios that apply phishing and social engineering techniques. Frauds of such nature are already implemented in other situations, even with payment methods Brazilians are well acquainted with, such as the boleto bancário.
Read also: How to identify a fraudulent boleto bancário
These practices will continue to exist with the entry of Pix. Techniques such as account takeover and SIM swap are true fraud trends in Brazil; because Pix will be an instant, convenient, and free of charge payment method, users will have less time to reflect if they are or are not a victim of fraud. Therefore, the recommendations and cautions remain the same: suspect every urgent loan request, do not pass on personal data through social media and WhatsApp, and so on.
Pix is safe for payers and payees!
Despite these risks, the new payment method works with several security layers. According to the Central Bank of Brazil, Pix will follow the same safety protocols already applied by the National Financial System (SFN), which are already used for TEDs and DOCs. Further, Pix transactions will be protected by cryptography and authentication, allied with the security layers offed by financial institutions such as fingerprint, iris or facial recognition, and PIN.
Do you want to know more about Pix and how it can benefit your business? Access our page about PagBrasil Pix and learn more!
