Check out 7 tips to avoid scams

Black Friday can be an opportunity to purchase products and services at a discount, but it is also a complete opportunity to cheat. Criminals take advantage of history to advertise false offers that essentially attract inattentive consumers.

NS UOL I collected tips from Idec (Brazilian Institute for Consumer Defense), Procon-SP, Febraban (Brazilian Confederation of Banks) and specialists to escape traps.

Black Friday is an online sale that started in the United States. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, stores tend to cut prices, aiming to replenish stock for Christmas.

In 2021, the show will take place on November 26.

1- Beware of excessive promotions

Exaggerated promotions can be a strategy to lure the consumer into fraud.

If you find a promotion that seems unmissable, Look for the price in the competition.

2- Check if the site is trustworthy

Check if the store or platform already exists. Make sure the company has a physical address and a SAC (Customer Service) address. This information must be clearly indicated on the page.

Procon-SP contains a file List of 500+ sites deemed untrustworthy.

Be especially careful when clicking on offers received via email or on social media. It can lead to a fake website that simulates the shopping space of a popular store.

Milene Jacob, a fintech specialist at Baptista Luz Advogados, recommends, “If you have any doubts about an offer received via the link, access the store’s website through another browser tab and try to find the promotion.”

Verappan warns that many scammers use “ad links” to gain visibility in search results.

3- Check the reputation of the store

Before buying, it is important to check the reputation of the store, the level of service quality, as well as the position in the relationship with customers. Look for this data in categories like Consumidor.gov.br it’s the Claim here.

4- Don’t buy using public WiFi

Public Internet networks are more likely to intercept personal data. The recommendation is that the user use public WiFi to search for prices and websites, if necessary, but complete purchases using a private network.

5- If you can use a virtual credit card

Give preference to virtual cards when shopping online. This way, a new card number is activated in the bank or the fintech app itself and expires shortly thereafter. This prevents fraudsters from using the fixed card data to make illegal purchases.

“Alternatively, the card issuing institution can provide a recurring virtual card that can be blocked or disabled at the request of the customer,” says Mylene Jacob.

6- Be careful with slips and pix

Idec recommends avoiding sites that only accept payment by bank voucher. In addition to not undergoing the card company verification process in case of fraud, [você] You will not be able to get a refund,” according to the institute.

If you are going to pay with a bank voucher, Verapan refers to the verification of the beneficiary company that appears at the time of payment, in the bank’s application or website. “If the name is different from the brand or company in which the purchase was made, the transaction must not complete.”

According to Mylene Jacob, the same care is necessary for purchases via Pix. “It is very important to carefully check the store’s CNPJ or the seller’s CPF number and values, intersecting them with the purchase and seller values.”

7- A personal purchase? Check the value on the device

Checking the value in the card machine is an essential care for personal purchases.

A simple and common scam happens when the criminal enters a higher value and carefully covers the offer when passing the device to the customer. In other cases, the scammer has a machine with a broken screen, which prevents the value from being read.