Datafolha survey shows that messaging apps and phone calls are the main means used for fraud
Brazil records more than 4,600 attempted financial scams per hour through messaging apps and phone calls, according to a Datafolha survey in partnership with FBSP (Brazilian Public Security Forum).
The survey, released on Tuesday (Aug 13, 2024), was conducted from June 11 to 17, 2024 with 2,508 respondents in all regions of the country. The margin of error is 2 pp (percentage points) either way.
The survey shows that approximately 2,500 people per hour purchased products online that were never delivered. In addition, 1,680 had their cell phones stolen or robbed, and 1,979 were victims of scams involving Pix or fake bills.
The survey also highlights significant underreporting of cybercrimes and cell phone thefts and robberies. Only 30% of victims of Pix scams or fake bills filed a police report, while 55% of those who had their cell phones stolen said they filed a police report.
Among the victims of the “machine scam” —fraud in which criminals used faulty or tampered card machines to charge higher amounts than agreed— around 41% reported the incident at police stations.
Of those who suffered financial scams due to advertisements on the internet and social networks, only 18% filed a police report. As for those who suffered attempted scams through messaging apps or phone calls, only 12% reported it to the Civil Police.
Research shows that virtual scams, mainly through messaging apps and phone calls, mainly affect people with an income of 5 to 10 minimum wages, with higher education, and living in cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants.
On the other hand, those most affected proportionally to their income by cell phone scams and thefts are low-income individuals. Among those interviewed with a family income of up to 2 minimum wages, 45% reported having been victims of one of the 13 types of crimes listed in the survey.
CELL PHONE THEFT
The survey shows that 1 in 10 Brazilians had their cell phone stolen or robbed within a period of 1 year. Of those interviewed, 9.2% said they had been victims of this type of crime.
Taking into account the proportion of respondents who said they had been robbed, Datafolha projected that 14.7 million people had been victims of this crime across the country.
Cell phone theft is more common in capital cities, where 15% of residents said they had been victims of theft. In the interior, only 6% were victims.
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