Online scams in Brazil jumped 65% last year to over 200,000, according to data from the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook published last month. And across Latin America, online frauds and cyberattacks are at an "all-time high," says cybersecurity company Tenable, posing an urgent problem for a well-connected region. "Latin America is a priority target because it has a very connected population, which means that they are always exposed," said Claudio Martinelli, managing director for Latin America for Kaspersky. In a ranking of 93 countries on cyberthreat risks compiled by fraud prevention software SEON, nine of the 10 Latin American countries were ranked in the bottom half. Three Latin American countries - Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela - were seen among the 10 countries with the highest risks for cyberthreats.

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Persons: Dado Ruvic, Gabriella Batalha didn't, Batalha, Kerry, Ann Barrett, Barrett, Claudio Martinelli, SEON, Tenable, Ransomware, Marcos Simplicio, Carolina Pulice, Brendan O'Boyle, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, YouTube, Brazilian Public Security, International Telecommunication Union, Organization of American States, America, Kaspersky, Costa, University of Sao, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Instagram, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, America, Latin America, Caribbean, Peru, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, University of Sao Paulo