Protection called ‘BC Protege+’ aims to protect citizens and companies from scams and fraud
O launched this Monday (1st) a new tool that allows people and companies to restrict the possibility of opening unwanted bank accounts in financial institutions.
Named BC Protege+, the functionality was developed to prevent the opening of accounts with a false identity or using data from individuals or legal entities in a . When activated, the mechanism also informs the National Financial System that the user does not accept being included as a responsible person, whether as a holder or representative, in accounts belonging to other people or companies.
“Institutions are obliged to consult for any opening [de conta] from today. It is a new procedure that citizens need to learn”, explained Carlos Eduardo Gomes, head of the BC Institutional Service Department.
By the beginning of the afternoon, almost 8 thousand people had already activated the block and 263 attempts to open accounts were rejected as a result of the activation of the tool.
“BC Protege+ is one of the several actions we have adopted, within the scope of the Central Bank, to offer tools to citizens to monitor their financial life and also their protection”, highlighted Izabela Correa, director of Citizenship and Conduct Supervision at the BC.
To access the service, you must have a silver or gold Gov.br account with two-step verification enabled. BC Protege+ is available on the BC website, within the My BC logged in area on the Central Bank website, following: “Services > Citizen > My BC”. Within the system, it is possible to activate or deactivate protection at any time.
According to the BC, protection applies to demand deposit accounts, savings deposit accounts and prepaid payment accounts, as well as the inclusion of a holder or representative in these accounts. It applies to all new account openings, including at the same institution or conglomerate where the CPF or CNPJ already has an account.
If an attempt is made to open an account with BC Protege+ activated, the citizen or company will be informed about which financial institution consulted the CPF or CNPJ to open an account.
“A citizen’s relationship with a financial institution generally begins with opening an account. It may be that at that same moment you make a credit operation, a credit card, a payroll loan, but the account is in that initial package. The success of BC Protege+ depends on the citizen’s adherence”, reinforced Carlos Eduardo Gomes.
The BC’s expectation is to expand the tool to other financial products and services, such as keys credit and credit card operations, which should only occur if adherence to the new system is significant.
On the same Meu BC platform, users can obtain the Accounts and Relationships Report (CCS), which shows the banks and financial institutions in which the person has accounts, investments or other ties, with the start date and, if any, the end date of that relationship. In this case, it is possible to check that your data has not been misused to open accounts.
The implementation of BC Protege+ was announced in May this year, and built over months in dialogue with financial institutions that are regulated by the Central Bank.
*With information from Agência Brasil
