colombianherald.com

With the arrival of bonuses, Black Friday and holiday shopping, the risk of cyberattacks and financial theft also increases. Given this panorama, the financial, technological and commercial sector of Colombia has decided to join forces to launch Security Week, which will take place from November 26 to 29, 2025.

The initiative is led by Asobancaria and Incocrédito, in alliance with Colombia Fintech, the Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce and Acecolombia (shopping centers). This coalition seeks to confront an undeniable reality: although financial inclusion and digital payments have grown, so have criminal modalities such as phishing (data theft by mail) and social engineering.

The focus: social engineering

Jonathan Malagón, president of Asobancaria, warned that the most attacked link is no longer banking technology, but the user. “The majority of reported fraud originates from the theft of information. Crime increasingly uses techniques such as social engineering to obtain keys and codes,” he explained.

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Although banks have implemented biometrics and dynamic keys, the call is for self-protection. Roberto Bojacá, director of Incocrédito, was emphatic about a golden rule: “One-time keys, passwords or security codes should never be provided through calls or links.”

A physical and digital effort

The campaign will not remain only on the internet. Carlos Hernán Betancourt, from Acecolombia, confirmed that there will be activations in shopping centers to educate buyers in real time. For their part, from the digital sector, Gabriel Santos (Colombia Fintech) and María Fernanda Quiñones (CCCE) agreed that trust is the most valuable asset for electronic commerce to continue being a driver of development.

4 keys to avoid falling into the trap

As part of the campaign, the unions issued the following urgent recommendations for this season:

Zero trust in urgent calls: If you receive an alarming call or message asking for codes or data, hang up and check directly with your bank.

Beware of ‘Phishing’ and ‘Smishing’: Do not open links in suspicious emails or text messages that promise prizes or threaten product blocking.

Safe purchases: Always check the legitimacy of websites before entering your credit card.

ATMs: Check that there are no foreign objects in the card slot and protect your password when typing it.

Don’t let the arrival of the cousin, natillera and others catch you off guard: this is how they educate to avoid theft at the end of the year

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