PIX: HERO OR VILAIN?

Many discussions regarding security boil down to the following dilemma: convenience X protection. And the issue is becoming more relevant in the daily life of the Brazilian population with the increasing ease of transferring money via internet banking on mobile devices. The advent of modern PIX real time money transfer technology and the subsequent rise in the number of cases of kidnappings and other crimes stimulated the debate even further.

PIX technology, launched in late 2020 by the Central Bank of Brazil, works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for free, virtually instantaneously, and with national coverage as long as there is internet access. Transaction limits must be set by the users themselves according to their convenience and needs, within limits regulated by the Central Bank and the financial institutions, which is often overlooked by users until the worst happens.

PIX KIDNAPPINGS

The worst effect of PIX has been the resurgence of express kidnappings. Faced with the easy transfer of significant amounts from third parties into their possession, more and more criminals have been extorting the population, usually by depriving them of their liberty, to make transfers via PIX. The modality with deprivation of liberty has become known as PIX kidnapping. Although the crime is not officially recorded by state security secretariats, it falls into the category of express kidnapping. The Secretariat of Public Security of São Paulo (SSP-SP), the most affected state by the new crime, reported that between January and July 2021, there was an increase of 39,1% in cases of express kidnapping and handling of stolen goods, with 206 police reports and 100 arrests. Experts point to PIX kidnappings as the main influence for the increase.

The time in captivity in express kidnappings varies greatly from case to case. There are situations in which the transaction is made in a few minutes, in others the victim is held for a few hours inside a moving car, and there are cases in which the victim is held in a captivity for some days. The longer the capture time, usually the greater the profit made. There are reports of kidnappings that have caused losses of more than R$100.000 from the transactions.

To withdraw the money anonimously, criminals borrow accounts from third parties, the so-called “conteiros“, and pay them a percentage of the transaction for it. An alternative is to create fake bank accounts with other people’s documents.

It cannot be said that the phenomenon came as a surprise; many public security experts had already warned the government, banks, and media about the incipient risks of PIX. At the end of 2021, the Central Bank tightened PIX security measures to try to combat the problem, but due to the high number of cases reported in the media, it is presumed that the measures did not have as much effect. Among the measures is the limit of transfers between individuals to R$ 1,000 at night, the prevention of instantaneous increase of limits and the option to pre-register accounts that may receive transfers above the established limits. In addition, in case of suspicious transactions, financial and payment institutions can withhold the transaction for 30 minutes during the day and 60 minutes at night, as well as suspend the account for up to 72 hours.

PIX KIDNAPPING 2.0

As if the problem alone was not enough, PIX kidnapping has evolved. Victims are now pre-selected on dating apps or on e-commerce platforms. Criminals create fake profiles and lure the victims into a trap at a location, time and circumstance that hinders the victim from reacting, thus becoming an easy target.

PIX AS A SIDEKICK

In addition, PIX has also become the ideal tool for fraud and extortion in the digital environment. WhatsApp scams have PIX as their transfer medium par excellence, be it the “Fake Profile” scam, in which the criminals create a fake account on the app using the victim’s picture and then ask for money for contacts; or the “Hacked Profile” scam, in which the criminals actually hack the victim’s profile. Virtual extortions, with data theft, information theft or intimate photos, and the fake kidnapping scam have also been widely associated with the new payment method.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Since PIX can be used for crimes of different kinds, taking security measures regarding the payment method alone may not be enough to protect yourself from some crimes. As far as PIX is concerned, it should be activated in as few banking applications as possible. Limits regarding the values and times of day and accounts that can receive transfers should also be conservative. In addition to PIX, the cell phone should also be protected with two-factor authentication, use of secure folders, not having user data, and automatic or repeated passwords. Panic buttons and shared geolocation applications may also be of interest.