Despite the LGPD (General Data Protection Law) being in effect since 2020, many companies are still in the early stages of adapting to the new law. The fact that penalties will only begin to be applied in August of this year has also meant that many organizations have not rushed to become compliant.

However, complying with the new law brings several benefits that go beyond avoiding fines and the blocking of data processing. In addition to improving relationships with consumers, investing in privacy keeps both the company and its customers further away from common scams.

In the second half of last year, 450 million credentials were leaked on the deep and dark web, and could be viewed on the website MinhaSenha.com. In other words, all this login and password information may have ended up in the wrong hands due to the lack of security on websites and platforms.

The dangers of this information leaking are numerous. Some of them are:

• The theft of these accounts and the charging of ransoms for their release;
• The theft of information saved in these accounts, especially payment information or documents;
• Access to contacts for sending messages while impersonating the victim;
• Messages from scammers asking for codes to clone WhatsApp.

In other words, the more exposed users' information is, whether it's login credentials, contact details, or documents, the greater the risks they face. It is up to the companies that handle this data, such as platforms, apps, and e-commerce sites, to implement security systems to prevent this problem.

Fraud increased during the pandemic.

According to the Brazilian Federation of Banks, there was a 100% increase in attacks between January and February of this year. PhishingThis type of scam sends the victim, via email or message, a link to a website that pretends to be a financial institution or e-commerce site.

Those who fall for this type of scam end up giving their information to criminals, thinking it's a bank or store because of the page's appearance. As a result, banking information, payment details, contact information, and other data are leaked.

Many people lose money to these scams, either by making payments to fake stores or transferring money to criminals who have stolen the WhatsApp accounts of people close to them and asked for money via message. With the pandemic, more people are making purchases and payments online, so it's necessary to be twice as careful.

How can companies and users protect themselves?

First, organizations need to implement several measures to ensure that customers' personal data does not leave the organization's control. Data mapping helps to identify the lifecycle of information and visualize with whom it is being shared. This process is also called Data Discovery.

Customer relations are also part of the process of incorporating privacy into the company. Customers need to know their rights regarding their own data. With a DSAR form – Data Subject Request Response – your company allows customers to request changes or deletions of data from your database if they feel more secure doing so.

For citizens, important tips include:

• Use different passwords for each website and platform. If one password is compromised, your other accounts will be more secure.
• Always check the website URL and email address before paying any bill or entering your credit card information.
• If a family member or friend asks for money via WhatsApp, try another way to contact them to verify if it's really them.