Police track PIX transfer made to woman who pretended to be 12 in Santa Catarina

A police investigation is looking into a reported scheme in which a woman allegedly directed money from a family to be sent via PIX, Brazil’s instant payment system, using bank accounts belonging to third parties. According to the delegate, this behavior is believed to have occurred earlier, at the beginning of last year, and investigators are now working to identify the people whose accounts may have been used in the transfers.

The statement suggests that authorities suspect the use of third-party accounts was not accidental, but part of a broader pattern that may have helped obscure the path of the funds. By routing money through accounts in other people’s names, investigators believe the suspect may have been trying to make the transactions harder to trace or to conceal the real destination of the payments. The delegate said the team will try to determine who these third parties are and what role, if any, they played in the financial movement under review.

PIX, the instant payment platform widely used in Brazil, has become one of the country’s most common tools for transfers and purchases because it allows money to move quickly between bank accounts at any time of day. However, its ease of use has also made it a frequent component in fraud, scam, and money laundering investigations. In cases like this, authorities often focus on identifying not just the main suspect, but also the individuals whose accounts received or forwarded the funds.

The investigation appears to center on the early period of the alleged scheme, with the delegate indicating that the suspicious activity may date back to the beginning of the previous year. That timeline may be important for tracing records, comparing transaction history, and interviewing people connected to the accounts involved. Investigators will likely examine whether the third-party accounts were opened with the owners’ knowledge, whether the account holders benefited from the transfers, and whether they had any direct participation in the alleged misconduct.

No further details were provided in the quoted statement about the amount of money involved, the identity of the woman, or the family said to have sent the funds. The comment, however, points to an active effort by police to map the flow of money and determine whether the use of other people’s accounts was part of a deliberate financial operation.

As the case develops, the key question for investigators will be whether the third-party accounts were used as a means to receive, move, or hide money from the family. Identifying those account holders could help clarify the full scope of the alleged scheme and determine whether additional people should face questioning or legal action.