PF arrests two in action against Emergency Aid fraud

The Federal Police (PF) launched this Tuesday morning (06/04), Operation Checker, against a pair that was defrauding Emergency Aid through CPF generators and applications known as “Checkers” (CPF validators), in Guaíra, municipality of Paraná, which borders Paraguay.

The corporation estimates that criminals have generated a loss of almost R $ 1 million, “just for the initial withdrawals, without considering other potential involved”. As part of the operation, two search and seizure warrants, as well as two preventive arrest warrants are being served by the corporation. The warrants were issued by the Federal Court of Umuarama, in Paraná.

According to the investigations, the investigated used CPF generators, in addition to “Checkers”, to validate the CPFs that receive Emergency Aid, in addition to those that can still receive. “Withdrawals were made directly at the ATM, at the bank branch, or, when in larger amounts, by means of a transfer through the PIX system”, writes the PF in a press release.

According to the PF, the scheme leader operates similar crimes, as well as forgery of documents, from the beginning of the payment of the benefit, in the Umuarama region (PR). With the equipment seized in the searches and seizures, the police hope to find more information to continue the investigation.

Lack of identity verification

To apply for Emergency Aid, you only need name, CPF, date of birth and mother’s name. That is, CAIXA does not verify the identity of the users who are applying for the benefit.

The applications used to request and receive the aid are internet banking apps and the aid can guarantee the lives of those who need it most in this pandemic moment. For this reason, they must have more advanced verification and anti-fraud mechanisms.

Second Anderson Torres, head of security at idwall, there are structural and operational problems that facilitate the exercise of criminal activity. The CPF, although it is generated by a central body (different from the RG, which can be generated one per state), it presents vulnerabilities where criminals “find fertile land to hit them”.

“Companies that do document checks need to consider that every document has a high chance of being fake, besides that, due to the recent leaks, these documents may be true, but used by someone other than the holder“, said the executive to The Hack.

To avoid fraud like this, Torres recommends that companies use multiple sources of verification, to guarantee the legitimacy of the document, in addition to make sure that whoever is using a document is in fact its owner.

“These systems [de verificação] they can be from advanced biometric checks, consultation in public and open sources, in addition to more conventional methods of table analysis (documentscopy) “, he explains.

Nonetheless, the challenge is to develop a system that performs these checks at low cost and speed, but without losing effectiveness. “The challenge is precisely to build a system that achieves this balance without losing effectiveness. The most modern systems include proof of life, geolocation information and cross-references to ensure that the individual is who he claims to be. Idwall is at the forefront of a movement of empowerment and possession of digital identity with various products that serve this purpose “, concludes the executive.

Official positioning

The Hack contacted CAIXA, who said:

“CAIXA informs that it acts jointly with the Federal Police and other Public Security bodies in the identification of suspicious cases and in the prevention of fraud in Emergency Aid, observing the best market practices. We clarify that information related to suspected cases of fraud and the actions taken by CAIXA’s security area to investigate and prevent fraud are confidential, being only passed on to the police and control authorities, in view of the risk of compromising ongoing criminal investigations. In addition to safety devices, it is important that users are always attentive to any unusual activity and situation“an institution spokesman said by email.

Source: Federal police.