New Report Reveals Brazilians Face 252 Scam Encounters Annually Despite High Confidence in Spotting Fraud

The Hague, Netherlands – 12 November , 2025 – The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) will release its State of Scam Brazil Report 2025 on November 13, revealing an alarming disconnect between confidence and vulnerability: while 75% of Brazilians believe they can recognize scams, 70% have fallen victim to at least one within the past year. The report estimates total losses at R$99 billion, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated action across sectors.

Part of a landmark global study covering 42 markets and interviewing 46,000 people worldwide, the Brazilian findings from 1,000 adults paint a troubling picture of daily vulnerability. Brazilians encounter scams on average once every day and a half – totaling 252 encounters per person annually. These encounters occur most frequently through phone calls (65%), text messages (55%), and email (55%), with shopping scams emerging as the most common type of fraud.

"Scams have become part of everyday life in Brazil. The fact that most people feel confident spotting scams, yet continue to fall for them, shows how sophisticated and convincing these schemes have become," said Renata Salvini, GASA Chapter Director Brazil. "Education, prevention, collaboration, and accountability must go hand in hand if we want to stop this cycle."

The Human Cost Beyond Financial Loss

The report reveals that 86% of scam victims felt very or somewhat stressed by their experience, while 59% reported significant or moderate impacts on their mental wellbeing. On average, each victim has been scammed 1.9 times in the past year, demonstrating how repeat victimization compounds both financial and psychological harm.

Despite the prevalence of scams, reporting remains disappointingly low. While just over two-thirds of those exposed have reported an incident, 60% of those who did report said either no action was taken (44%) or they were unsure of the outcome (16%). Among those who never reported, 44% cited the belief that reporting wouldn't make a difference – reflecting a troubling perception that the problem is unmanageable.

Taking Action: Cross-Sector Solutions

In response to these findings, GASA is hosting a webinar on November 13, 2025 at 11:00 AM (Brasília Time) titled "State of Scams in Brazil: Turning the Tide on Scams." The session will bring together key stakeholders from across sectors to discuss collaborative strategies and actions to combat the scam epidemic.

The distinguished panel includes:

Rafael Fernandes, Ministério Público de Minas Gerais (MPMG)

Natalia Kuchar, Google

Marcia Netto, Silverguard

Sónia Mota, Nasdaq Verafin

The discussion will explore how stakeholders can work together to create more effective defenses against increasingly sophisticated scam operations.

Register for the webinar: https://streamyard.com/watch/wGnWNAayknPD

Key Findings from the Report:

• R$99 billion lost to scams in Brazil

• 252 scam encounters per person annually (once every 1.5 days)

• 70% of adults fell victim to at least one scam in the past 12 months

• 1.9 times – average number of times each victim was scammed

• Shopping scams are the most common type (60% of victims)

• 97% of Brazilians take at least one preventative step, with searching for reviews being most common (43%)

Methodology

Research was conducted by Opinium Research, on behalf of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, between 26 February and 14 March 2025. Opinium surveyed 1,000 adults (18+) living in Brazil, nationally representative of the Brazilian adult population. The data was weighted to be nationally representative by age, gender, and region.

This year’s survey used an updated and more rigorous methodology. Stricter data cleansing was applied, excluding the top 2–5% of the highest loss reports to remove outliers. Quotas based on age, gender, and region ensured a more representative sample across all 42 markets surveyed.

The research also discontinued global extrapolations — results now reflect only the surveyed markets, a change that will continue in future reports to ensure greater consistency and accuracy.

Click here to access GASA’s complete The State of Scams in Brazil 2025 report

About The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA)

The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting consumers worldwide from online scams. GASA unites governments, law enforcement, telecommunication providers, tech leaders, consumer protection agencies, and cybersecurity experts to share knowledge, foster cross-sector and cross-border collaboration, and promote effective solutions in the fight against online fraud. Through research, advocacy, education, and global events, GASA works to build a safer digital world for everyone. Learn more about GASA at https://www.gasa.org/.