PF carries out operation against those who lend accounts for fraud – 05/30/2023 – Market

The Federal Police carried out 51 search and seizure warrants in 17 states and in the Federal District, this Tuesday (30th), in Operation Don’t Be an Orange 2.

With the support of Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks and Interpol), the operation aims to dismantle criminal schemes aimed at committing fraud in electronic accounts held in various banking institutions in the country.

According to Febraban, in recent years, the Federal Police have detected a considerable increase in the conscious participation of individuals in criminal schemes, for which they “lend” their bank accounts, against payment.

“This ‘easy profit’, with the assignment of accounts to receive fraudulent transactions, makes possible the occurrence of electronic bank frauds that victimize countless citizens. Such people are known, in police jargon, as ‘Oranges'”, says the federation, in a note .

In August 2022, the action aimed at curbing these frauds had 43 search warrants executed in 13 states and the Federal District. The operations are part of the Tentacles Project, which has as one of its main pillars a Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Federal Police and Febraban, in force since October 2017.

Lending bank accounts to receive fraudulent credits is a crime: in addition to causing damage to fraud victims, the action also promotes the financing of criminal organizations.

Penalties can reach up to eight years in prison, plus fines, and even be aggravated if the crimes are committed using a server kept outside Brazil, or if the victim is an elderly or vulnerable person.