The need to maintain distances and operate remotely considerably accelerated the development of information technologies and directly affected our need to use digital tools, giving rise to new forms of fraud and cybercrime. During the pandemic and post-pandemic periods, there was a 300% growth in cybercrime worldwide and, if we speak specifically of our country, the increase is an alarming 3000% in terms of fraud, bank fraud and password theft, according to data from the 2021 digital banking fraud report carried out by BTR Consulting and the Specialized Cybercrime Fiscal Unit (UFECI). Among the modalities most used by cybercriminals are the theft of personal data, access codes to online banking, credit card data, or the takeover of social networks that is later used as a trigger for other types of fraud.
With regard to banking entities, the most common scams are those that are carried out through the social engineeringthis consists of convincing the victim to hand over their personal information, without their realizing it. Fraudsters set up a specific context in which they pretend to be bank personnel to request sensitive information, almost always urgently and under the threat that if the person does not follow the requested steps, they will lose their account or face extraordinary costs. Contacts through social networks, phone calls, emails or websites that imitate the aesthetics of the originals, are usually the most common channels to deceive the user and get hold of that data. There are also especially vulnerable users, such as older people with little knowledge of digital tools or young people who are carrying out their first transactions. That is why, From our place, we continuously work to strengthen the security measures of all our platforms, but without a doubt, the best prevention tool is education.
On many occasions, the user is unaware of the numerous ways in which his personal information may have been compromised, but from losing sight of the card with which he pays in a store, to entering data on a website to participate in a raffle , they can be real threats that we should pay attention to. Through our channels, we constantly warn about these modalities, we carry out strong awareness campaigns, as well as talks aimed at older adults, and we migrate their operations to our Retired App, thus mitigating possible sources of fraud. We advance in the development of more powerful security systems, while cybercriminals work to violate them, for this reason, it is essential to accompany the user with information and constantly alert him about these dangers.
The development of new digital tools has simplified many aspects of our daily lives, however, at the same time, responsibility is required. Faced with a massive digitization process that does not stop, it is increasingly important to be aware of the value of our personal information and the growing need to take care of it so that, in this way, the digital revolution does not find us unprepared.
Non-Financial Risk Manager at Banco Supervielle
Source: Ambito
