# Fake bank call centre scam: how it works and what to do · Bipe

Someone calls or writes saying they are from the bank and there is a strange purchase on your account. To "protect" the money, they ask for a password, a code or a transfer. No bank asks for that.

**The fake bank call scam: banks do not call asking for passwords**

## The numbers

- **139,000** reports to banks of a fake bank call centre or fake bank employee, almost three times the same period of 2024 (first half of 2025. Source: [Febraban](https://portal.febraban.org.br/noticia/4381/pt-br/))
- **46.4 million** people, as the survey estimates, had a scam attempt on a messaging app or by a fake bank call centre (Jul 2024 to Jun 2025. Source: [Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública e Datafolha](https://publicacoes.forumseguranca.org.br/server/api/core/bitstreams/33ed3320-fc11-45f9-a909-ed69eba48cfd/content))

## How it works

1. You get a call or message from someone who says they are from the bank's call centre. The number can even look like the bank's.
2. They know your name, your CPF or part of your card, and talk about a purchase you did not make.
3. To cancel the purchase, they ask for your password, the SMS code, an app install or a transfer to a "safe account".
4. With that, the scammer takes the money out of your account.

## How to spot it

- They ask for a password, a code, a transfer or an app install.
- They talk about a "safe account" or about returning money by Pix.
- There is a rush: if you do not act now, the money disappears.
- They ask you not to hang up and not to tell anyone.

## What to do

- Hang up and call the number on the back of your card or in the bank app yourself.
- Do not install any app someone asks for by call or message.
- Already gave data or money? Talk to the bank at once, block the card and file a police report.

## How Bipe helps

Bipe is made so you know who is on the other side. Not everything is ready: each item shows where it stands on iPhone and Android.

- [Verified seal](https://proseio.com.br/en/features/verified-seal/) (iPhone: Coming soon; Android: Coming soon): A seal with a name verified through Pix or gov.br, so you know who is on the other side.
- [Message requests](https://proseio.com.br/en/features/message-requests/) (iPhone: In the test app; Android: In development): People who are not in your contacts arrive as a request. A message from a new number does not land straight in your chat list.
- [Scam warnings](https://proseio.com.br/en/features/scam-warnings/) (iPhone: In the test app; Android: In development): A warning shows under a message that looks like a scam, such as a rushed Pix, a new number or a boleto. It is on by default, with nothing to set up.

Bipe only protects the chats that happen in Bipe. If someone in the family still uses another app, a scammer can write to them there.

## Other common scams

- [Fake relative](https://proseio.com.br/en/scams-in-brazil/fake-relative-scam/)
- [Taken number or account](https://proseio.com.br/en/scams-in-brazil/cloned-number-scam/)
- [Pix and fake boleto](https://proseio.com.br/en/scams-in-brazil/pix-scam/)
- [Fake shop](https://proseio.com.br/en/scams-in-brazil/fake-shop-scam/)
- [Threats with your data](https://proseio.com.br/en/scams-in-brazil/threat-scam/)
- [Scams in Brazil in numbers](https://proseio.com.br/en/scams-in-brazil/)

## Where these numbers come from

Researched on 12 October 2026. We only use numbers that have a source. Surveys by a company or a private association are marked as such.

- [Pesquisa de vitimização e percepção sobre violência e segurança pública 2025](https://publicacoes.forumseguranca.org.br/server/api/core/bitstreams/33ed3320-fc11-45f9-a909-ed69eba48cfd/content) (Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública e Datafolha, 2025-08)
- [Golpe da Falsa Venda é o mais aplicado contra clientes bancários no 1º semestre do ano](https://portal.febraban.org.br/noticia/4381/pt-br/) (Febraban, 2025-11-11)


## Download

- Install on iPhone: https://testflight.apple.com/join/KUnUX9Mz (Test version, through Apple TestFlight.)
- Android: coming soon: The Android version has not started yet. Leave your email and we will tell you when it is out. contact@envisioning.com

A project by Envisioning: https://envisioning.com