Carnival 2025 promises to take more than 53 million revelers to the streets of Brazil, according to the Ministry of Tourism based on state tourism departments. With the party days also comes the concern with the common blows in events of this dimension.
Kiss, machine, card exchange… Will you enjoy the carnival? THE CNN It has separated the five blows – among them some digital – most common and how to prevent each one of them.
Machine
The most common and increasingly known in major events is the machine coup. A survey by the Datalted Institute pointed out that more than 40 million people were victims of digital blows in 2024.
Digital security expert and Will Bank consultant Daniele Ferreira explains that in this scam there is also the use of portable devices with NFC technology (approximation), to debit card values and also steal the data from unprotected cards, taking advantage of the crowds proximity.
“In the field of machines, there is the tactic of the broken screen, which prevents the victim from seeing the value before entering the password, allowing the scammer to cover a higher than expected value,” warns Ferreira.
The expert’s recommendation in these cases is to disable the approach payment function, and keep the cards in places protected against unauthorized readings. In the case of machines with broken screens, the ideal is to check if there are other equipment to make the payment or even seek another location to make the purchase.
Wi-Fi false
In an increasingly connected world, where we are always looking for internet or network signal to communicate or publish some record, another blow can generate headache: the fake Wi-Fi network.
In this scam, criminals configure access points with names similar to those of networks that actually exist. After connection, scammers intercept personal data from revelers such as application passwords, emails and access credentials.
In addition, they use the access point as a malware distribution – which are software that impairs the devices.
“Avoid connecting to public networks in case of extreme need, use VPN, avoid accessing sensitive information in case of connection to unknown networks, keep your device always updated and disable the automatic connection,” recommends Ferreira.
At the base of the kiss
Beware, during a moment of interaction and romance in the revelry you can also be the victim of a blow. In this case, criminals take the kiss to steal revelers’ belongings and thereby misappropriate bank applications to carry out financial transactions.
For these cases, the recommendation is not to leave telephone appliances in pockets that are easily accessible. If possible, the reveler can hold the cell phone or use anti-the-canned caps. It is also recommended to use strong passwords, biometrics and authentication in two factors for important applications, and avoid saving passwords automatically on cell phones.
Card exchange
The hurry, the crowd and the animation of people are a full plate for the blow to change cards during the party. The action takes place during transactions, mostly with street vendors.
In the blow, the seller exchanges the victim’s card for a similar after she typed the password. Then, with the card exchanged, the criminal can make withdrawal and purchases. The guidance for this type of scam is always to keep the card in sight and check if the returned card is indeed yours.
Offers and Promotions
Common in the digital environment, in this scam the criminals share in networks offers and promotions of free tickets or with attractive discounts for carnival events. These announcements direct victims to fraudulent sites to extract personal and financial data.
“It is important to distrust very advantageous offers and verify the authenticity of promotions directly in the official channels of companies or events,” says the digital security expert.