Security is one of the fundamental pillars of StarsPay’s operations. Aiming to educate customers and consumers on this important subject, we have already produced articles on one of the most common Pix scams, tips to protect yourself from online scams, the main forms of online payment fraud, and more.
This past week, a new scam involving Pix became a hot topic on social media. Therefore, we have prepared another article on the subject of anti-fraud, explaining how the “wrong Pix” scam works and the simple measures that can prevent someone from falling victim to it.
How does it work?
The scam went viral after numerous influencer posts on the topic. It involves the scammers gaining access to personal data, an unexpected contact, and a detail that makes all the difference in convincing the victim. It all starts with a message received from a stranger. This person claims that a Pix transfer was mistakenly made to your account, asking for the amount to be refunded.
At this point, if the contacted person accesses their own account, they notice that they have indeed received an unexpected transfer in the same amount mentioned by the scammer, which adds credibility to the story. The scammer also uses elements of social engineering, highlighting the importance of this money in their budget and earnestly requesting that the amount be transferred to a new account.
Unaware that it is a scam, the victim makes the transfer, believing they are helping someone who made a mistake. It is at this moment that the scammer activates the Special Return Mechanism (MED), a resource created by the Central Bank precisely to combat fraud, claiming that they were a victim of a scam. The request is received by the bank, which analyzes the money movement and notices that the amount received in the victim’s account was quickly transferred to a third account, a common practice in scam cases.
Upon understanding that a fraud occurred, the bank deducts the corresponding amount from the victim’s balance, passing it to the scammer as if it were a legitimate return from an scam. Thus, the person is left without the amount they had received “by mistake” and also loses the same amount as if they had committed a fraud. For example, a person with R$1,000 in their account receives the “wrong Pix” of R$500 and ends up with R$1,500. After making the “refund,” they are back to R$1,000. However, with the activation of the MED and the bank’s analysis, another R$500 would be deducted from their account, leaving a final balance of R$500.
How to avoid it?
The good news is that some simple measures can prevent the user from falling for this scam. First, it is worth noting that any message received from an unknown number should be viewed with great suspicion, especially if the topic involves money, extra income opportunities, or similar subjects. In the vast majority of cases, it is a scam, even if it is less obvious in some cases.
The second point is that upon receiving an unexpected Pix and possibly by mistake, the person should activate the “Return money” option. This refund feature was also created by the Central Bank for mistaken transfers. When activated, it sends the received amount back to the account that sent it. Thus, if the scammer activates the MED, the analysis will show that there was no transfer of the amount to a third account, not constituting a scam and preventing the fraud from proceeding.
