Fake billet: 4 tips to prevent scam attempts

Paying attention to the data in the document is essential in order not to be the victim of an attempted fraud.

With online commerce on the rise, scam attempts have also increased, making new victims. And the fake boleto is one of those attempts. The coup works as follows: the fraudsters end up intercepting the slips and making changes to the barcodes, entering data from a new recipient of the account.

As many characteristics of the boleto are preserved, the payer may have difficulties recognizing the fake boleto immediately. Therefore, he ends up paying for the document without knowing that he is actually falling into a scam. Money, in turn, does not go to correspondent banks, but to scammers.

Check out some tips below to learn how to recognize a fake bank slip before losing your money in an attempt at embezzlement.

1.  Check the typeable line

Every billet has the name of the bank that issued the title, a bar code and a typeable line, this needs to be observed carefully.

The logo that appears on the ticket is related to the number series that comes right ahead. Thus, the first three digits refer to the bank code. See below the code list of the 5 largest banks we have in Brazil:

• Itaú – 341
• Bradesco – 237
• Box – 104
• Bank of Brazil - 001
• Santander – 033

If you find a code that does not match any banking institution, then this is a great indication that you have been the victim of a scam.

2.  Compare the values ​​in the document

Another important point to analyze is the final digits of the bill, since they are related to the amount to be paid. What is specified in the 'document value' field must match the last digits of numerical series. That's because this information can be incongruent in a fake boleto.

Remembering that, before the value, the typeable line will present a sequence of zeros. Which makes it even easier to understand how much you will have to pay on that ticket.

3. Pay attention to the barcode fake billet

Fake bills, in general, have a reading failure in the barcode, this is an indication that the document has been tampered with.

When we pay the bank slip through our digital bank app, since we are unable to read the barcode, it is common for us to enter the typeable line manually.

But, when the payment is made at a bank, when picking up the fake billet, the attendant is unable to read the document. If you are an attentive employee, he will certainly know that the boleto is actually a scam.

4.  Note the final beneficiary

The value of the billet is received by banking institutions, so when it is at the checkout counter or in your digital account, check who is the final beneficiary.

If you notice that the name belongs to an individual or even a company that does not match the issuing bank, then do not pay! By the way, if you are in a bank branch, the best thing is to report what happened to an attendant.

Did you fall for the fake boleto scam? Understand what to do!

If you fell into a fake billet scam, know that you have the right to recover the lost money, since the charge is irregular. The first point is to observe whether the data necessary for issuing the bank slip was under the responsibility of the bank.

For example, it is common for banks to leak some customer information such as: address, CPF, RG, email and even payment date. This shows that criminals are gaining access to data that should be confidential, and that the banking institution does not have good data processing protection.

In this case, if the data accessed are those contained in the contract or in the bank's database, then the institution must be responsible for the data leak. Thus, it is possible that you have the amount paid reimbursed by the institution. To do so, you will need to hire a good lawyer to file a lawsuit.

But before that, as soon as you realize that you paid a fake bill, contact the creditor company to report the leak of your data and the scam. By the way, do not forget to keep the e-mails and the numbers of the connection protocols, they will serve as proof.

If the company does not agree to recover the values, then contact Procon. Thus, the company will be notified and will need to provide a response within 48 hours.

Now, if none of that has solved your problem, then you can move a lawsuit, so that, after judgment, the company is liable for the return of amounts unduly paid.

We hope that our tips can help you avoid a possible scam. If you liked our post, then share it with friends and family and continue accessing our other tips. See you soon!