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Scams in Brazil in numbers · Fake shop

The fake shop scam: you pay and the purchase never arrives

An ad with a price far below normal, from a shop or profile you do not know. You pay and the purchase never arrives. In the national survey, it is the scam that took money from the most people.

17.7%

of Brazilians aged 16 or older paid for an online purchase that never arrived, the scam that took money from the most people

Jul 2024 to Jun 2025 · Source: Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública e Datafolha

174,000

reports of a fake sale to banks, the most reported scam of the half year

first half of 2025 · Source: Febraban

R$ 446

was the mean loss of people who paid and got nothing

Jul 2024 to Jun 2025 · Source: Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública e Datafolha

R$ 13.3 billion

lost to purchases paid and never delivered, as the survey estimates

Jul 2024 to Jun 2025 · Source: Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública e Datafolha

How it works

  1. The scammer sets up a shop, a profile or an ad with products that are too cheap.
  2. Sometimes they copy the name and look of a known shop.
  3. They ask for payment by Pix or boleto, outside the marketplace, to give a "discount".
  4. After the payment, they disappear or stop answering.

How to spot it

  • The price is far below normal.
  • They take only Pix, to a personal account.
  • They ask to close the sale outside the marketplace site or app.
  • The profile is new, has few followers or has comments turned off.

What to do

  • Before you buy, search the shop's name and CNPJ.
  • Pay through the marketplace itself, by card, when you can.
  • Fell for it? Talk to your bank, ask for MED if you paid by Pix and file a police report.

How Bipe helps

Bipe is made so you know who is on the other side. Not everything is ready: each item shows where it stands on iPhone and Android.

Verified seal

A seal with a name verified through Pix or gov.br, so you know who is on the other side.

iPhone: Coming soon · Android: Coming soon

Scam warnings

A warning shows under a message that looks like a scam, such as a rushed Pix, a new number or a boleto. It is on by default, with nothing to set up.

iPhone: In the test app · Android: In development

A pause before paying

On a suspicious money request, copy and pay stay locked for 5 seconds, to break the scam's rush.

iPhone: Coming soon · Android: Coming soon

Bipe only protects the chats that happen in Bipe. If someone in the family still uses another app, a scammer can write to them there.

Other common scams

Scams in Brazil in numbers

Where these numbers come from

Researched on 12 October 2026. We only use numbers that have a source. Surveys by a company or a private association are marked as such.