Associação Portuguesa de Bancos
menu

Financial Education

Campaign “Don’t fall for fraud”

The Portuguese Banking Association (APB) launched the national awareness campaign ‘Don’t fall for fraud’, with the aim of alerting citizens to the main risks of payment fraud and promoting safer behaviour in everyday life.

As the use of digital channels continues to grow, fraud attempts are also becoming more sophisticated and difficult to detect. The campaign focuses on three particularly common types of fraud:

Phishing

This consists of sending messages (e-mail, SMS or social media) that imitate legitimate entities, such as banks or well-known companies, to trick the user into clicking on fake links or providing confidential data.

Precautions to take: never click on suspicious links, always confirm the source of the message and only use the bank's official channels.

Spoofing

This involves falsifying telephone numbers, email addresses or websites to make the contact appear legitimate. The aim is to trick the victim into revealing information or making transfers.

Precautions to take: be wary of unexpected contacts that appear urgent, even if they appear to come from your bank, and confirm their authenticity through the usual channels.

Identity theft

Criminals use stolen personal data (such as name, address, tax number or bank details) to open accounts, apply for credit or carry out transactions in the victim's name.

Precautions to take: protect your documents, do not share personal information on unsecure platforms and be alert to unusual activity in your accounts.

With this campaign, the banking sector reinforces its commitment to supporting customers and increasing financial and digital literacy in society.

The initiative aims to involve all citizens in a collective effort: adopting simple habits, such as checking the origin of messages or calls, not sharing confidential data and always confirming contacts through the bank's official channels. Small actions that make digital payments more secure and reinforce confidence in the financial system.

The campaign is present on television, radio, in the press, digital media and also at ATMs, and is expected to reach around 80% of the adult population. To ensure that the message reaches everyone, it also includes a Portuguese Sign Language interpreter in the television videos and subtitles in all digital content.

Video