Today, 22 September, the Portuguese Banking Association (APB) is launching a national awareness campaign against payment fraud, with coverage on television, radio, in the press and on digital media, including social networks. 

With the slogan ‘Don't fall for fraud', the initiative aims to alert the population to the growing risks of online fraud, promoting safe practices in the use of digital banking.

The initiative educates different audiences about the main types of payment fraud, with an emphasis on phishing, spoofing and impersonation. To this end, real examples from everyday life will be used.

With this campaign, the APB main goal is to promote safe and conscious behaviour in the use of digital banking, encouraging simple prevention practices, such as checking links, not sharing personal or banking data, and validating contacts.

The campaign is aimed in particular at three groups: young people between the ages of 14 and 24, digital natives exposed to e-commerce, social networks, and payment applications; millennials, aged 24 to 40, who are intensive digital users who value convenience but have growing concerns about security; and people over 65, who face greater difficulties with digital literacy.

"The banking sector has invested heavily in protection technologies and security measures that make Portugal one of the safest countries in terms of payment methods. But we know that fraud is constantly evolving and reinventing itself. That is why this campaign is a fundamental step towards strengthening the digital and financial literacy of the population and reminding everyone that we all have a role to play in prevention. Not falling for fraud protects not only our money, but also our trust in the financial system," says Vítor Bento, president of APB.

This campaign will be broadcast on all APB platforms and most of the Associated Banks, representing another step in the banking sector's joint effort to strengthen customer security and promote digital and financial literacy among the population.

According to the Bank of Portugal, most electronic transactions in Portugal are secure: fraud in electronic payments in Portugal has remained very low, with the fraud rate in Portugal lower than that recorded in the European Economic Area (EEA) for all payment instruments. Despite this, there has been a growing and increasingly sophisticated trend worldwide, which justifies this APB awareness campaign.