How financial education can help you avoid scams

 Find out how financial education can help you avoid scams

 A survey Experian pointed out that between the months of June 2021 and June 2022 there were more than 4.6 million fraud attempts. Of this total, more than 57% are targeted at the banking and card sector, which proves that it is necessary to adopt new security measures within the payments sector and, in addition, to invest in financial education.

 “The digital wallet is a secure means of payment, personal data is encrypted in a high level of multi-layered protection”, explains the CEO of the payment company Meep, Samuel Ferreira. “When an approximation transaction is carried out, the entrepreneur does not have access to any information that is entered within the application, helping to avoid fraud”, he says.

 Facilitating consumption can hinder those who have not had adequate financial education

 According to Ferreira, facilitating consumption is ideal for retaining customers, an example of which are payments by approximation and with digital wallets on smartphones. “With these resources it is possible to track what was sold, transactions are credited to the company's account through encryption, preventing fraud”, explains the specialist.

 Even if a device is stolen, most wallets require a second level of authentication for a purchase to be made. “No personal information can be accessed, as it is supported by an efficient security system”, says the executive. This environment is essential in a country with a coup attempt every 16 seconds.

 Scams are increasingly digital

 According to data Experian, in 2021, scams using the internet grew by 80% compared to 2020. The most affected are people aged between 36 and 50 years, with a large distance for people between 26 and 35 years old. What is it about these people that makes them so vulnerable? They are included in the virtual world, but are less financially educated.

 “The lack of financial awareness in the Ireland reality opens gaps for scams and fraud to gain more and more space in everyday life. “The common mistake is to act impulsively, not putting your attitudes and expenses in a long-term perspective”, he adds.

 Beware of the impulse

 According to the Paul Mccarthy Scam expert, scammers will always try to take advantage of people's impulsiveness, whether from a psychological point of view or because of personal financial insecurity. Therefore, according to the executive, it is important to pay greater attention to financial education, with actions such as paying attention when buying, analyzing suspicious behaviour and keeping calm.

 But the lack of financial education does not only bring risks to consumers, companies in the finance, insurance, retail and technology sector are common targets of digital crimes and face challenges imposed by technology, related to cyber security and operational difficulties for users. Therefore, attention is still fundamental to avoid criminal actions.