# 2,000 companies have their state registrations suspended

URL: https://branddi.com/en/blog/2-mil-empresas-tem-as-suas-inscricoes-estaduais-suspensas
Categoria: Golpes Online
Publicado: 2024-12-16

According to data released by the government, in the first four months of 2024 alone, 1.4 million new companies were opened in Brazil. This number represents an increase of 26.5% compared to the last four months of 2023.

But are all these new businesses really protected?

This is not what the São Paulo Finance and Planning Secretariat (Sefaz-SP) shows in its latest actions. Quite the opposite: in December 2024, the secretariat suspended more than two thousand companies on suspicion of involvement in digital scams related to the payment of IPVA. of legitimate brands by associating their actions with trustworthy names.

How does fraud impact legitimate companies?

As we said previously, when fraudsters use visual elements or names similar to those of brands or public bodies, the damage is not limited to just deceived consumers.

This is because legitimate companies also suffer from the consequences of this type of scam, facing challenges such as:

Loss of consumer trust

Consumers, when experiencing negative experiences due to scams, often cannot distinguish between the real brand and the fraud. As a result, this can lead to distrust of the legitimate company, even if it has no direct involvement in the incident. the chance to actually reach your company.

This not only reduces sales, but also compromises the impact of marketing campaigns, affecting the brand's financial performance.

Increased legal and operational costs

All companies that have had their names and brand elements used by scammers have undoubtedly invested a good part of their time and resources in repairing the damage caused.

As a result, it is not strange to think that this refund, in addition to increasing communication expenses to clarify to the public that there is no involvement with scams, also increases legal and operational costs with possible litigation.

In other words, investing in digital protection is not just strategic: it is essential. Mainly for brands that want to protect their credibility and results, showing potential fraudsters an image of attention and commitment to digital protection.

Do you want to understand more about what shielding marketing is and how it can prevent cases like this from happening to your brand? Keep following Branddi's blog!