The scam is becoming more and more common, but Anatel is trying to prevent it. Learn more about it!
The well-known Portability Scam has been claiming more and more victims in Brazil. The crime occurs when criminals steal access to victims' telephone lines and begin to impersonate them on social media, sending messages via WhatsApp, Instagram and other social networks, asking for money and pretending to be selling some type of object.
Typically, users begin to notice errors when using the internet, followed by the disconnection of their phone line and the receipt of a message informing them of a supposed change in their phone plan. After this, the user loses access to social networks.
Recently, to avoid this type of problem, the National Telecommunications Agency decided to implement new rules that operators must follow in the case of portability requests by users. Learn more about this subject and see how to protect yourself from the scam.
Portability
Portability is a consumer right that allows consumers to change carriers without losing their current phone number. To do this, simply call your current carrier and request portability, providing your personal data.
Due to the ease of the process, many criminals have taken advantage of this, hijacking users' telephone lines, in the so-called Portability Scam. the coup, criminals gain access to user information such as full name, CPF and cell phone number, call the operator, request the service and provide the user's data, as if it were themselves.
After the service is released, they gain control of the phone line and gain access to the victims' calls, messages and social networks. The user, without knowing anything, ends up losing access to everything on their own cell phone.
Once they manage to access users' social networks, criminals send messages carrying out scams, asking for money and selling fake objects and financial investments.
New rules
To avoid this type of scam, Anatel has decided to implement new rules that operators must follow to protect customer data. According to the agency, companies have new obligations to make adjustments to portability procedures, putting an end to the possibility of fraudulent practices.
Now, customers interested in porting must respond to an SMS on their device within six hours. If they respond to the message sent by the operator with YES, the request will be validated. If the user responds with NO or does not respond, the request will be automatically cancelled.
The new measures have been in development since last year and began to be implemented in April this year in places with area code 64. Now, it has come into effect across the country.
How to protect yourself
To protect themselves, it is ideal for users to be aware of the signs, checking for messages that may indicate a procedure that was not carried out by them, as well as observing unknown charges on the bill, increased internet data consumption and some other factors that may indicate something wrong with the line.
If you receive an SMS asking you to confirm the portability, only respond with YES if you have actually made the request. Otherwise, do not confirm the service and contact your operator immediately.
It is also important for users to be careful when sharing their data, such as their full name and ID numbers, since criminals can commit scams and create accounts using only this information. Do not share personal data with strangers or post photos of documents on social media. Only confirm your data if you are sure that you are communicating with a secure organization. Generally, reputable companies do not call users asking for personal information, card numbers and passwords. This could be a scammer, so always be vigilant.
