The Pix starts to be valid this month and the phishing attacks increase. There are Pix scams being registered, in which criminals take advantage of people's adherence to the novelty, creating fake registration links and pages that mimic bank sites to make them click. And these are just some of the internet fraud strategies.
That's because phishing is big business in the world of cybercrime. And as attackers perfect their tactics, users become even more vulnerable.
But why do we still fall for scams like this?
Yes, we still fall for these types of scams and more often than we admit. At least 3.4 billion fraudulent emails are sent around the world every day and account for more than half of all reported security incidents.
Whenever there is an issue in evidence, or a moment when people are more fragile, as happened in the pandemic, countless types of threats linked to the topic of the time appear. This behaviour by cybercriminals is not new. The scams often work because, contrary to what some people believe, hackers are not only good at finding flaws in systems. They have also mastered the ways of manipulating people.
Phishing is a cyber attack that uses disguised email as a weapon. By doing so, the attacker tricks the recipient into believing that the message is something the user wants or needs. It could be a request from the recipient's bank, for example, or a note from someone at their company asking them to click on a link or download an attachment.
And no matter how many new vulnerabilities are disclosed on cyber security websites, this mode of operation remains the most widely used, prevailing in security incident statistics. Almost all malware, 94% in total, still reaches computers via email.
There are ways to avoid scams, whether by email or malicious websites. That's why we've separated these five measures to help prevent them:
To avoid falling for Pix scams, check the URL to access websites
The homographic scam consists of registering domains that seek to mimic the appearance of famous websites. Keep an eye out for suspicious URLs that exchange letters for numbers, such as "go0gle". The same goes for less popular domains: addresses ending with ".br" ".edu" and ".org" usually have more credibility than ".biz" and ".net". Only use the official website or application of the financial institution to register the PIX key. Enter the website in your browser or open the official application on your mobile phone.
Avoid clicking on links that arrive via email or whatsapp
These can be phishing attacks. These are fraudulent messages that look like they are sent by trusted companies or people you know, like your bank or a friend. They may have a form for you to fill out or include a link to a fake page that looks like the real thing.
Antimalware
Have good anti-malware software installed on your device. Although it's similar to an antivirus, it's not exactly the same thing. Anti-malware software also protects against risks brought by spyware, which steals personal information from your computer.
Secure the wireless network (Wi-Fi)
Your home connection appears to everyone within range of the router. Hide it. This way, only those who know the correct name of the connection can access it. To do this, access the router's interface. In the wireless security part, select the option that does not show the SSID (Service Set Identifier. It means the name of the connection). It is also important to activate the router's firewall, if it has one. Often the device comes with firewall disabled.
Keep your systems up to date
Outdated systems are easy gateways for cyber threats. With each new update, systems fix flaws and improve security levels. So if you don't update, you're leaving your data vulnerable to risk.