How to prevent fraud? Check out 12 essential tips to avoid risks!

It’s time to discover the 12 tips to prevent scams. Next, see how to protect yourself!

1. Use strong passwords

Common passwords, such as birthdays or numerical sequences, are easier for criminals to discover. With them, scammers can access emails and bank accounts by changing current passwords.

In addition to having the chance to steal money, criminals can make it difficult for you to access and recover your accounts. Therefore, choose strong passwords that include letters, numbers and symbols, and avoid passwords that are easy to guess.

It is also important to have different passwords for each account you use and keep them up to date. This way, you can maintain your protection in case information leaks occur.

2. Observe website verification

Sites where you need to enter personal and banking details must have security features. To do so, you can observe whether there is a closed padlock in the address bar or whether the link begins with “https”, for example.

3. Don’t share personal information

As you have seen, there are scams in which criminals pretend to be companies or the Government to request personal and financial information. For this reason, it is essential not to share data with strangers, such as passwords, CPF and credit card numbers.

If you want to confirm the suitability of the message, look for the company’s or Government’s official channels to find out more information. By adopting this measure, you prevent your data from falling into the wrong hands.

4. Avoid suspicious emails

To prevent scams applied via email, it is essential to know how to identify suspicious messages. The main tip in this regard is to check the sender and the link address. Furthermore, it is interesting to observe the text and the composition of the image.

Scam emails often have spelling and grammar errors, use generic images, and attempt to pressure the recipient into taking immediate action. If you receive a suspicious email, do not click on links or download files. Instead, delete it immediately.

5. Check invoices regularly

Do you check all purchases on your credit and debit card statements? Maintaining this habit helps to detect fraudulent activities and inappropriate charges.

Therefore, please check that all purchases are legitimate. If you notice any suspicious activity, contact your financial institution immediately to report the purchase or improper charge.

6. Keep your antivirus and firewall software up to date

By clicking on a suspicious link, it is possible that your device will be infected by a virus that captures your financial and personal data. Therefore, it is essential to keep your antivirus software and firewall updated to protect your devices against these attacks.

It is worth noting that these tools work in different ways. Antivirus software is designed to detect and remove viruses and other threats. The firewall acts as a barrier that prevents hackers from accessing your computer or mobile device.

The reason you should regularly update these tools is because companies constantly discover threats. Therefore, updates serve to adjust these vulnerabilities.

7. Only use official apps

Another fundamental observation regarding applications is linked to the download of these programs. In this context, pay attention to download and use only official applications from online stores and suppliers, avoiding using apps from unknown sources.

This helps reduce the risk of using malicious or malware- infected programs . To understand whether this is an official app, check user reviews before downloading it and avoid downloading programs with negative reviews or suspicious comments.

8. Check all invoices before paying

Another fundamental point is to always check the invoices before paying, making sure that the information is correct and the document is legitimate. To do this, check the bill amount, expiration date and beneficiary information before making the payment.

If you notice any incorrect or suspicious information, please contact the recipient to confirm the information before making any payment. This way, you avoid paying a fake bill or one with a higher value than agreed.

9. Avoid accessing internet banking from shared devices

Another precaution to take to prevent fraud is not to access your internet banking from shared devices, such as public computers. After all, you don’t know which programs are installed on the equipment and can capture your data.

Furthermore, you may forget to log out of your account on the machine, leaving room for your data to be used by the next malicious user. If accessing internet banking on a shared device is unavoidable, it is essential to take precautions, such as:

• be sure to log out when you finish using the service;
• never save your login information on the device;
• Clear your browsing history and temporary files after using internet banking .

10. Do not access your bank account from public networks

Another tip to protect yourself from fraud is not to access your bank accounts or enter your personal and financial details when using public internet networks. This is valid even if you use your own device, as public internet networks can be hacked more easily.

In this case, criminals can intercept information transmitted over the network, which includes your banking information. If you need to access your account on a public Wi-Fi network, it’s important to use a secure connection, such as a virtual private network (VPN).

A VPN encrypts information transmitted over the network, making it more difficult for hackers to intercept. Another option is to use your mobile data instead of a public network to access your checking account and carry out activities in which you need to include your personal and financial information.

11. Check the transfer recipient

When making bank transfers, whether via Pix, TED or DOC, carefully check the recipient’s name, CPF (or CNPJ) and account number. This is essential to ensure the information is correct and that you are sending money to the right person or company.

Scammers may attempt to defraud recipient information by changing just one digit or letter, which could result in money being sent to a fraudulent account. Therefore, it is essential to check all information carefully before completing a transaction.

12. Don’t send money in message requests

In frauds using WhatsApp, it is common for the scammer to pose as a family member or friend asking to borrow money. If this is a habit in your family circle, arrange with your acquaintances to confirm these requests by other means, such as a phone call or video.

This makes it easier to recognize the identity of the applicant and understand whether it is a scam or not. Also, never send money to people you don’t know or if you are not sure of their reliability.