According to the recently released "State of Scams in Brazil 2024" report from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), in collaboration with ScamAdviser and Whoscall, scams are wreaking havoc on millions of Brazilians. The report revealed losses of approximately BRL 297.7 billion ($54 billion) due to scams in the past 12 months, painting a sobering picture of the prevalence of fraudulent activity targeting citizens.
With average losses of $1000 per victim, the GASA report highlights a surge in scam attempts, with 94% of respondents claiming to have encountered a scam attempt at least once per month. Most alarmingly, the impact of financial losses reigned heavily on scam victims, and only 4% of impacted individuals claimed to have fully recovered lost funds.
Here’s a list of the most common types of scams affecting Brazil, according to GASA:
Related: Phishing Scams: How to Identify and Avoid Them
Speed and efficiency characterize scams in Brazil, with 61% of fraudulent schemes executed within just 24 hours of initial contact, leaving victims with little time to recognize the scam or seek help. Beyond the financial losses, the emotional toll of scams is also substantial. Approximately 45% of victims reported a strong emotional impact, a 25% rise over the past year, with many Brazilians indicating a diminished trust in digital interactions.
Although 62% of Brazilians feel confident in their ability to recognize scams—an increase from last year—this awareness has not translated into an effective reduction in scam incidents. The report shows that 66% of victims do not report scams to authorities, often due to perceived ineffectiveness or complexity in the reporting process. Those who do report scams turn to banks and local law enforcement.
Recommendations for a Stronger Anti-Scam Response in Brazil
The report also outlines essential strategies to address the scam crisis, emphasizing a coordinated, approach involving public education, simplified reporting, and technology-driven solutions. Some of the report’s core recommendations include public awareness campaigns, streamlining the reporting process, utilizing anti-fraud technologies such as AI-powered detection tools, and strengthening victim support resources and recovery mechanisms.
“To combat the growing threat of scams in Brazil, several measures must be taken: enhanced public awareness campaigns, simplified reporting mechanisms, collaboration between private and public sectors, improving victim support and recovery processes, and leveraging technology, such as anti-fraud apps and AI-based scam detection,” Jorij Abraham, GASA Managing Director said.
How Bitdefender Can Help
As a member of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), we play a key role in protecting netizens against scams. Bitdefender leverages advanced cybersecurity technologies and AI to detect and prevent fraudulent activity in real-time across multiple platforms, including:
The scam detection tool is free to use and offers a user-friendly interface where users can check if any suspicious correspondence, they have received is a scam attempt, or they can describe a conversation or scenario to receive a verdict in seconds. You can also help others stay safe by sharing Scamio with them in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Romania, Australia, and the UK
You can read more about Scam Copilot here.
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Alina is a history buff passionate about cybersecurity and anything sci-fi, advocating Bitdefender technologies and solutions. She spends most of her time between her two feline friends and traveling.
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