A year after the initiative was launched, Arnaldo is back to warn consumers about fraudulent calls, text messages, emails, payment references and QR codes.

The Portuguese Banking Association (APB) is launching this Tuesday, 8 September, the second phase of its awareness campaign “Don’t fall for card fraud”, designed to help consumers recognise attempts at fraud and adopt safer practices when using digital channels.

A year after the first campaign, Arnaldo returns as the protagonist in five new scenarios inspired by fraud attempts that are increasingly common in everyday life: fake calls made in the bank’s name (vishing), text messages containing fraudulent links (smishing), emails promising easy money (phishing), fake payment references and QR codes that redirect to fraudulent pages or payments (quishing or QRishing).

In each episode, Arnaldo is faced with a situation that appears credible and urgent. Before sharing any details, clicking on a link or making a payment, he pauses, asks questions and verifies the source of the contact through official channels.

“Fraud is taking on increasingly diverse and sophisticated forms, but it often continues to exploit the same factors: urgency, trust and distraction. With this new phase of the campaign, we want to reinforce a simple message: when we are asked for personal details, payments or immediate action, we must stop and verify before acting,” emphasises Rita Machado, head of financial literacy at APB.

The campaign will run for five weeks on the APB’s LinkedIn page, as well as on the Instagram and Facebook accounts of Saber de Contas, the APB’s financial literacy portal, with two pieces of content published each week focusing on each type of fraud. In addition to the videos featuring Arnaldo, educational content will be published in various formats, including carousels, infographics, quizzes and checklists.

Key safety measures promoted by the campaign include not sharing bank details in response to unexpected contact, checking the source of messages before clicking on links, confirming payment details, and using the official channels of the bank or organisation in question.

Through this initiative, the APB reinforces the banking sector’s commitment to financial and digital literacy and to empowering consumers to use banking services in a more informed and secure manner.