The most common digital theft modalities according to the Superintendency of Banks

Within the framework of the campaign "Verify first, protect your data", the Superintendency of Banks (SB) presented the most common digital theft or fraud modalities, in order to guide users of the financial system so they do not fall into these traps, which are increasingly frequent. •Phishing: consists of sending emails that imitate the image of any company or institution and redirect their victims to fake pages. •Smishing: This is the same technique as phishing, but through text messages (SMS) or WhatsApp. • QR code and short link scams (quishing) that redirect to sites that steal credentials or install surveillance and/or device control programs. • Vishing: combines "voice" and "phishing" and refers to fraud carried out by phone calls. Scammers often impersonate representatives of companies or trusted individuals to obtain passwords, credit card numbers, or personal information. Many use artificial intelligence to clone the voice of close people. • Fake profiles on social media: these hold raffles, offer scholarships or provide help, among other things, in exchange for asking for personal data. •Fraudulent investments or prizes: they promise extraordinary profits in exchange for initial transfers. The supervisory entity and its User Services and Protection Office (ProUsuario) have been implementing the first phase of the initiative called Anzuelo since last Tuesday, August 5th, which consists of copying the modus operandi of the "hackers" fraudsters, with the mass sending of text messages (SMS) and emails, as well as the placement of posters with QR codes in different locations. Through these messages, people are asked to access links with the promise of taking advantage of attractive opportunities, offers of financial or entertainment products, or with alerts about the unauthorized use of some of their products, among other tactics commonly used by cybercriminals. By clicking on the links, those who have fallen into the Hook stage are redirected to an educational message from the SB and ProUsuario about the need to stop, analyze the information and verify the source before engaging in any action that could give cybercriminals access to their data and financial products. Through this strategy, the institution seeks to reach the people most vulnerable to falling for this type of scam, providing them with some techniques to identify these malicious messages, while also raising awareness of how easily they could have been victims of the theft of their data and allowing access to their banking products. To date, 4,114 people have accessed the email link, 3,616 through text messages, and 152 have scanned the QR codes on the posters, for a total impact of 7,882 people. "This confirms once again the ease with which many people inclined towards fear or ignorance can give access to their personal and financial data. A golden rule is to distrust any message that requests immediate actions or sensitive data," explained Natalia Sánchez, ProUsuario director.