New Desenrola scam displays victim's CPF and data to charge settlement via PIX; learn how to protect yourself

Psychologist explains the damage to the mental health of those who fall for scams A survey by Kaspersky identified a new scam campaign that uses Desenrola Brasil as bait to attract people interested in renegotiating debts. The fraud is spread mainly through social networks and directs victims to fake pages that simulate the program's negotiation process. To date, more than 60 domains registered with the term “desenrolla” have been identified. ?? Do you have any reporting suggestions? Send it to g1 Criminals promise discounts of up to 99% to pay off debts, remove names from defaulters' records and increase credit scores. To complete the supposed renegotiation, however, the victim is induced to pay a fee per PIX. The money is not intended to pay off the debt and, according to Kaspersky, is transferred to bank accounts used by scammers. The fraud draws attention due to the level of personalization used to give the pages an appearance of legitimacy. The sites reproduce visual elements from official government pages and display images of authorities and members linked to the debt renegotiation program. When accessing one of the fake pages, the victim is directed to a chat where personal data appears, such as full name, CPF and date of birth. Displaying this information gives the impression that the site has access to an official database. Next, the page presents a supposed analysis of the user's financial situation, with information about credit score and debt amounts. The service continues in a chat integrated into the website, in which a supposed attendant sends pre-recorded messages, videos and audios to simulate an individual conversation. Afterwards, the victim receives a renegotiation proposal with a discount of up to 99% on the value of the debt. The criminals also claim that the procedure would allow them to remove the name from the records of defaulters and increase the credit score. To finalize the supposed agreement, however, a fee is charged per PIX. Payment is presented as a necessary step to complete the negotiation, but does not result in any actual renegotiation of the debt. Service chat with data confirmation and score analysis. Disclosure/Kaspersky “This campaign combines two common elements in social engineering scams: the expectation of quickly resolving a problem and the feeling of security created by displaying true personal data”, explains Fabio Assolini, lead security researcher at Kaspersky. According to him, the presentation of correct information does not prove that a website is legitimate. The advice is to check your email address before providing data or making payments and be wary of offers that promise extraordinary benefits or require unexpected charges. How to avoid the scam Check the website address: before providing personal information or making any payment, check whether the address belongs to an official government channel or the financial institution involved. Be wary of advance charges: do not make payments via Pix to release discounts, complete a renegotiation or obtain any benefit from the program. Look for official channels: if in doubt, access the government or creditor bank websites directly, instead of clicking on links received via WhatsApp, SMS or social media. Don't just trust the display of personal data: information such as name, CPF, date of birth or score can be obtained by criminals and does not prove that the page is official. Report fraud: fake websites and accounts used to receive payments can be reported to the authorities and financial institutions involved. Fraudulent website layout. Disclosure/Kaspersky