The arrival of Black Friday 2025, scheduled for November 28 this year, represents a great promise of growth for many brands and retailers. But behind all expectations, there is a risk: counterfeiting and digital piracy.
dice Recent shows that fake virtual stores Increase by 135% in the months leading up to Black Friday. Counterfeiters take advantage of the current vulnerability to create cloned ads, fake pages, and profiles that mimic the identity of legitimate brands.
Do you want to know how to avoid this scenario and protect your brand before the most profitable (and risky) date of the year? Check out our complete guide and discover the right measures to protect your brand against digital counterfeiting this Black Friday.
What is digital counterfeiting (and how does it happen)?
Digital counterfeiting can be defined as unauthorized reproduction, imitation, or adulteration of products, brands, content or visual identities on the internet, with the purpose of deceiving consumers or third parties.
In e-commerce, product counterfeiting occurs in two ways:
- Counterfeit products manufactured and sold on marketplaces and social networks, often with packaging, logos, and descriptions similar to the originals;
- Misuse of a brand's identity in the online environment, including plagiarism of official images, cloning of websites, fake profiles on social networks.
The impacts of piracy for brands on Black Friday
In addition to imitations, the circulation of fake products, Ads hijacking and misuse of brand identities affect the performance of companies:
Direct financial loss
Each counterfeit product represents a sale diverted from the original brand. The financial impact can be even more severe when unauthorized resellers use the same digital channels as legitimate brands, such as marketplaces and social networks.
dice Recent reports from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicate that the global trade in counterfeit goods was estimated at around US$ 467 billion, which represents even 2.3% of world trade.
Damage to reputation and loss of consumer confidence
In a survey from Incopro, it was found that 66% of consumers who unknowingly bought a counterfeit product lost trust in the brand in question.
Still, the same study showed that 76% of consumers stated that they would stop buying from a brand that “is often associated with counterfeit products”.
Legal and tax problems caused by counterfeiters
Many brands face legal and tax difficulties because counterfeiters misuse their data, CNPJs and licenses to sell on the internet.
The proliferation of counterfeiters generates undue notifications from tax agencies and even the need for judicial defense to prove that there is no connection with the scams.
How are consumers affected by fake products?
The harm of counterfeiting generally falls on brands, but it is the end customer who suffers the most immediate consequences:
- The product received usually has Lower quality, have defects or do not match what was announced;
- oftentimes There is no refund, warranty, or legitimate service channel;
- In the case of cosmetics, medications, supplements, or electronics, counterfeit products may contain toxic substances or flaws that endanger the consumer's physical integrity.
How to shield your brand before Black Friday?
With the increase in the number of campaigns, resellers, and scams during Black Friday, brands need to adopt a plan to preventive shielding.
What can't be missing in a plan of Online brand protection:
Audit ads
The ad audit consists of an analysis of paid traffic campaigns across all channels, including Google Ads, Meta Ads, and TikTok Ads.
It is necessary Cross-reference source information (such as advertiser accounts, destination links, and creatives used) with internal brand records.
Validate sellers
Reseller validation needs to follow a structured process of authenticity check. The first step is to confirm CNPJ data, company name, and address in reliable public and private databases.
Then, the recommendation is analyze business history of the seller to assess their reputation on marketplaces and the standard of prices charged.
Monitor in real time
O real time monitoring It's a way of combining continuous scanning of sites, social networks, and marketplaces to detect misuse of the brand's name, logo, or campaigns.
Did you like the tips? Brand protection is a constant process that requires integration between technology, teams, and strategy. Ahead of Black Friday 2025, strengthening these three pillars is what differentiates vulnerable brands from safe brands.
Check out all of Branddi's recommendations here to protect your brand in digital sales and prepare in advance!
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