For fear of scams, 7 out of 10 Brazilians stopped buying online

Seven out of ten (71%) online consumers stopped buying products or services on the Internet for fear of being hit, according to research conducted by Branddi, a brand protection company in the digital environment.

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Within this universe, most people did not make the purchase either because they did not feel secure on the e-commerce platforms (20.5%) on which they were buying or because they distrustful of advertisements on social networks (15.5%).

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According to Diego Daminelli, CEO of Branddi, numbers like these reinforce that, in addition to the security strategies themselves, which exist to protect platforms from cyberattacks and scams, brands must also pay attention - and increasingly - to how their images are used by Internet scammers.

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More than sales losses, companies also face reputational crises. “People are already aware of some types of scams, such as false notifications about card purchases that arrive via WhatsApp, for example,” he says. “However, not everyone knows how to recognize an advertisement, profile, or even a fake site. When they fall into a scam because of this, much of the blame goes, unjustly, to the brand itself - and it is also a victim,” she continues.

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In fact, the Branddi study shows that 82% of the interviewees have encountered these attempts at Internet scams. The majority (around 45%) point out that they involved manipulated advertisements on social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Another 15.5% report that the frauds involved fake profiles on the same platforms.

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The strategy is simple: create campaigns identical to those of the brands, but with prices much lower than the original ones. As a result, there is a greater chance of being clicked and, in some cases, of a false sale occurring. “It has happened in all sectors: from electronics to perfumeries, from clothing to large marketplaces,” explains Daminelli.

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The purpose of the criminals is to make the customer buy the product through the fake profile or advertisement and then never hand it over.

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These figures are higher than scam attempts with fake sites (13%) or with fake stores within e-commerce platforms (7.6%), for example. For the CEO of Branddi, this is explained by the ease of producing falsified advertisements and publishing them on the networks.

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“On the one hand, it's essential that brands create marketing strategies for their social media. They are where the majority of consumers are. There's no way for a business that wants to have good results to be off Instagram,” reflects Daminelli.

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“But on the other hand, in such a large space of information flow, they need to be aware of how their image may be being manipulated. From a reputation point of view, this is a disaster”, he reinforces.

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Are Brazilians falling for scams?

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These are not a few cases: the Branddi survey asked consumers if they had fallen into a digital scam recently - and heard from four out of ten of them (37.4%) that they did.

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More than that, the most common occurrence was precisely a false advertisement on the networks (11% of cases), followed by fake profiles (6.3%). “These numbers are still very high, not only for the online shopping experience, but also for the relationship between people and brands - which, in our retail, is a central element for retaining customers and attracting new ones”, concludes Daminelli.

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“The data shows that consumer confidence is under attack. Shielding the brand against misuse and digital scams is no longer just an option — it's a matter of survival in Brazilian digital retail,” he concludes.

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Methodology

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Branddi's survey surveyed 500 online consumers of all ages and from every state in the country in August 2025.

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