07/18/2024 – 14:05
Crimes against property, such as vehicle theft, fell last year, but one crime is still on the rise: fraud, especially that committed online. One reason for the increase is the popularization of Pix, a tool from the Central Bank that allows free financial transactions, and other banking apps.
The total number of frauds grew 8.2% in the country last year compared to 2022, according to the Public Security Yearbook, prepared by the Brazilian Public Security Forum and released this Thursday, the 18th. Almost two million people were victims of some type of scam.
The Forum’s researchers consider that one of the reasons for the percentage increase, especially in the online modality, is a change in the Penal Code, which defined the crime of electronic fraud in 2021.
“Records that were previously classified as other types of crimes now have their own category, bringing to light a fact that was previously invisible, despite causing significant damage to Brazilian society,” says an excerpt from the report.
Even so, many states still do not distinguish between “common” and virtual scams. This is the case of São Paulo, which recorded the largest increase in fraud among all states, with a growth of 22.7%.
The percentage is almost three times higher than the increase recorded in Brazil. Amapá, in turn, saw this type of crime reduce by 16.8% between 2022 and 2023, the sharpest drop in the country.
Virtual fraud is closely linked to the theft and robbery of cell phones. Last year, almost one million devices were stolen in the country. According to Renato Sérgio de Lima, president of the Brazilian Public Security Forum, criminals prefer to steal iPhones, which generally belong to people with more purchasing power – which can yield greater profits from the scam.
“The growth in fraud is happening all over the world, it is not just a reality in Brazil,” says Lima. “The government needs to improve investigations, focus more on receiving stolen goods, for example, but it is also necessary to engage the private sector to ensure that this new world, the cyber world, is not also a world without any protection.”
As shown by the Statethe financial amounts returned due to suspected fraud in the first half of this year do not reach 10% of the total amount requested. Of the R$2.89 billion requested, only R$243.3 million were actually returned, according to data from the Central Bank.
In recent months, the proliferation of scams such as Jogo do Tigrinho has also attracted attention, in which criminals take advantage of the growing addiction to these virtual games to extort money from Internet users. In São Paulo, more than 500 police reports have already been filed to investigate cases of this type.
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