The use of a popular payment method has been growing significantly among the Portuguese. However, this increase is accompanied by an increase in associated fraud, with thousands of people having been circumvented across the country. According to SIBS, the company that manages this system, although the service is safe, lack of knowledge makes many users vulnerable.
How do the burles work?
This service works through a mobile application that allows you to make quick transfers between users, facilitating trade between individuals.
However, burns have taken advantage of this ease of deceiving people, especially those with less experience in technologies and financial operations.
Frauds often occur on platforms like OLX, Cost Fair or Facebook Marketplace, where scammers contact victims under the claim of a legitimate business.
One usual method is the Burlon to convince the victim who does not yet have the application to go to a multibanco to join the service, then associating the victim’s bank account with the number of the Burlão.
In this way, Burlão gets access to the victim’s account and can make unauthorized surveys or transfers. Already thousands of Portuguese were victims of this scheme.
For those who already use the service, the scam can happen through a false transfer request. The burlon sends a message asking for money and, when the victim accepts, is transferring the amount to the burlon account instead of receiving the payment. This technique has led thousands of Portuguese to lose money.
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Measures to protect
To avoid being circumvented, it is essential not to associate your number of mobile phone with not yours. Never provide codes or personal data to strangers and do not follow instructions from people you do not know to join the service or make payments as recommended by the same source.
Never respond to emails or SMS messages that seem suspected, even if they appear to be legitimate. Nor should you click on links sent by these means without prior confirmation. If you receive a strange communication, you should report it through the official chat of the application.
It is equally important to regularly verify the extract of your bank account to detect any strange movement, minimizing the impact of eventual slops.
If you lose your mobile phone or other device where you have the application, you should disable or remove the account from this device through the application settings. If you have no other device, you can cancel the service at a multi -bite or bank terminal.
In case of loss of bank card associated with application, it must immediately cancel the card with the bank to avoid unauthorized accesses.
Responsibilities and conclusions
According to the Consumer Protection Association, the circumvents of this type are not the responsibility of banks or the company that generates the service, since there is an active, albeit involuntary participation by the victims. There are already thousands the Portuguese who, unknowingly, were led to collaborate in these schemes.
Being informed and following official recommendations is the best way to avoid being another victim.
Prudence and attention remain the best defenses against these frauds that have affected so many Portuguese.
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