Branding

Brand impersonation: a step-by-step guide to shielding your brand

branddi · Published on December 05, 2024 · Updated on April 10, 2026

Here, at Branddi, something we reinforce every day is how the decision for digital protection and its continuous improvement are key elements for a healthy brand. After all, fraudsters and unfair competitors continue to improve their actions, and ignoring this constant update is also exposing your company to these scams.

Brand impersonation is one of these advances, combining fraud and phishing to steal conversions, data and traffic from the emulated business. But what is this fraud really, how does it happen, how does it affect brands and, most importantly, how to defend yourself?

Come with Branddi and check out this article for an efficient and strategic step-by-step guide to shield your company against brand impersonation!

What is brand impersonation?

In short, we can say that brand impersonation is a fraudulent practice in that third parties impersonate a legitimate brand. To do this, these fraudsters use the name, logo, visual identity or other elements to deceive consumers or commercial partners.

However, this action does not end there! This is because, by emulating the brand's own elements, these fraudsters are able to send emails asking the user to pay a fee or verify their account. has driven the growth of attacks that use brand impersonation. Proof of this is other data also revealed by the same research, which estimated a 70% growth in this type of attack between 2022 and 2023. src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6689757856399456a21b0ba3/6751c750dc389fffd3e714b9_AD_4nXfnupE4Nf71nFWwp7Od3oPnEeb3i65 uTEGPwwMtODHvm8yUEC5Lq3E4ZpDY0W8PdEXJqobdM2TSD3TVWkps8nKv-tTbZVsAdrmZK5qZtZ5bQs33voExmikc_DgCCUEB7hye6EvIzU2m8raBj_8wAAY.png" width="auto" height="auto" alt="" loading="auto" id="">Source: Arkose LabsBut how, after all, does brand impersonation work?

How does a brand impersonation attack work?

The vast majority of brand impersonation attacks happen through sending mass of fraudulent emails. To do this, these fraudsters spend a lot of time researching the victim company's visual identity and communication tone.

In this way, they are able to emulate the brand's tone, creating a credible and sophisticated approach to their targets, whether they are consumers or brand collaborators. After identifying these users who will be points of contact for collecting information, the person behind brand impersonation seeks to create addresses, URLs and email addresses similar to the originals.

Ready! Now he will be able to “wear” his brand and take advantage of all his credibility built in the market to send scams.

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Main types of brand impersonation

As with all other types of fraud, brand impersonation does not have just one format, although all of them present similarities between them. It is exactly because of this multiplicity of formats and channels that this fraud has become so difficult to detect.

To facilitate your monitoramento, Branddi has gathered the five main types of brand impersonation below. Check it out!

Phishing

It is not uncommon to see confusion between phishing and brand impersonation when we talk about digital fraud. However, it is important to emphasize that, although they are related, they do not mean exactly the same thing.

When we talk about phishing, we are referring to the action of mimicking the identity of a certain brand to gain access to sensitive information from employees or consumers.

Therefore, it is not uncommon to find phishing emails, links or attachments asking for data confidential information, credentials or purchase history. To do this, these fraudsters focus their efforts on large brands, seen as a reference in their sector, as they involve a greater flow of users, whether internal or external.

Because they are such a common type of brand impersonation, phishing dominated the global ranking of cyberattacks. In 2024 alone, the practice was detected in 61% of fraud attempts, according to research by Appgate. src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6689757856399456a21b0ba3/6751c754096ad0521a54fcd4_AD_4nXcM38TBem_rW7x09UARWlhtjiQQIJE EdglfET_YShbagXIiXEpTfAlRW4zcC78eNYws658Y6ihU7jF3qD3o0CTHQWo3KC1QxSSHgMXAovGJRv0GZbX5jO7CVkyb6JuPOtci5SvIHuwg1FGLWUH1jDY.png" width="auto" height="auto" alt="" loading="auto" id="">Web imageBrand HijackingJust like phishing, brand hijacking, also known as spoofing or brand hijacking, happens when a fraudster copies the email address, URL or networks social networks of consolidated brands.

In this way, these malicious users are able to deceive consumers, divert traffic or cause financial and reputational damage.

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Fake accounts on social networks

The creation of fake accounts using the name, logo and design of reputable brands also represents a type of brand impersonation. After all, this type of page uses likes, comments and shares from real users (or not) to appear more legitimate.

In addition, these profiles can also be used to sell counterfeit products or redirect to fake pages.

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Technical support brand impersonation

Another of the most common types of brand impersonation is fake technical support, where fraudsters pretend to be part of an external support team. This way, they can contact the team and request login credentials to gain confidential access. src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6689757856399456a21b0ba3/6751c750c1edcc5ded50aafd_AD_4nXdoK5iOgGRkuCHdt76DCe0UwenwqI "" width="auto" height="auto" alt="" loading="auto" id="">Web imageExecutive ImpersonationCan be literally translated as “executive imitation”, this is the least common and most recent form of brand impersonation. This is because this technique requires a greater level of sophistication and planning on the part of fraudsters, who need to identify and falsify the identity of senior executives or representatives of a company.The objective in these cases is to deceive employees, partners or even customers to obtain confidential information, authorize strategic changes or request financial transactions.

However, even though these cases of executive imitation are smaller when compared to other types, we also cannot deny a tendency to increase.

Proof of this is shown in the graph made by the software company Fortra, which compares the growth of these cases between 2021 and 2022.

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What is the real cost of brand impersonation for brands?

There is a false consensus among entrepreneurs that frauds such as brand impersonation only target large corporations. However, even though these giants are indeed a target, this does not mean that small and medium-sized brands are immune to the consequences.

And it is this thought that can lead your business to suffer serious financial and reputational losses. But these are not the only possible impacts in these cases.

Continue reading and understand how this fraud can be a danger to your brand!

Damage to reputation

Just imagine searching for a product or service from a brand you already trust and discovering that you were deceived with a result below expectations? This is exactly how your consumers feel when they encounter fraud involving elements of your business.In other words, even if your company is not actually responsible for the user or customer's dissatisfaction, it is your name that they will remember when they think about the experience.

In other words, it is not an exaggeration to say that these frauds not only hurt the reputation of the official brand, but also undermine the trust that previously existed between company and customer.

Revenue loss

Another direct impact of brand impersonation actions is the loss of revenue: more than 10 billion in the United States alone, according to a survey of the FBI.

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This is because, by incorporating the identity and taking the place of your brand, these fraudsters capture legitimate traffic from your company. In addition, of course, to diverting conversions from ads and paid campaigns, therefore harming revenue.

This loss is felt mainly in sectors such as online retail, technology and consumer goods, where competition is high and customer experience is fundamental for loyalty.

Increased costs

When we talk about increased costs due to the brand impersonation it is natural for them to think about operational protection costs. This is not only a false judgment but also dangerous, after all, investment in digital protection not only strengthens the brand but also prevents new attacks from happening.

In other words, to talk about consequential costs of brand impersonation, the right thing to do is to look at operational and legal expenses. This is because, when looking closely at these financial impacts, we see that these frauds directly impact the correction of the damage caused by imitators.

‍But that's not all: this type of fraud is also responsible for increasing the resources put into internal investigations to identify anomalous patterns and review campaigns. As a result, we can see the inflation of costs per click.

Finally, we also cannot ignore the occasional costs of intervention by legal departments to identify those responsible, take legal action and manage possible crises.

Reduced online engagement and other impacts on campaigns

As they compete directly on the same digital advertising platforms, such as Google Ads or social networks, it is common for the brand to impersonation greatly reduces the brand's engagement on networks.

Not only does this make it difficult to build solid relationships, it also inflates the CPC and reduces the ROI of campaigns. In other words, the company loses visibility and begins to experience difficulties in reaching its target audience.

Consumer confusion

According to the 2023 Interpol Digital Security Report, attacks related to brand counterfeiting represent around 64% of global phishing incidents.

In other words, your brand and its Consumers may never have been the target of this type of fraud, but that doesn't mean they never will be. After all, the presence of these cases has become increasing, including in Brazil, as shown in the graph below released by Serasa:

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If the consequences for the brand, as we saw above, are serious, they are no less considerable for the consumer. This is because the customer, in addition to being exposed to lower quality products and services, also feels uncertainty at the time of purchase, affecting their purchasing journey and demotivating future interactions with the brand.

How to protect your brand against brand impersonation?

After talking about fraud based on brand impersonation and its main consequences for brands, it is natural that you want to understand how to protect your business. And that's why Branddi has prepared this complete content with strategic and effective tips to prevent these fraudsters from using your brand for their scams.

Let's check out more in the Branddi step-by-step guide below!

Learn to recognize suspicious patterns

Although they can differ greatly in terms of type, brand impersonation actions have several similarities that can guide and speed up your defensive actions.

Among them, we can mention illegitimate addresses and domains, grammar errors or communication disconnected from the brand's tone of voice or use of unusual communication channels.

This initial view, although it does not guarantee 100% success for an in-depth check, can help identify more generic cases.

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Ensure registration of your brand

Although it alone does not guarantee the protection of your business, brand registration is an important step towards ensuring its exclusivity of use and legal security.

To do this, register all variations of your brand's domain and intellectual property. This way, you will be certified that your business is protected in all relevant jurisdictions!(Learn how to register your brand by clicking here)

Invest in the education of your employees and the public

You Have you ever heard that a truly consolidated company is one that is easily recognized? This is not only true but also influences how quickly your brand rebuilds itself after a crisis caused by fraud such as brand impersonation.

To this end, it is important not only to educate your audience with awareness campaigns, preventive alerts and a well-defined standard of communication, but also to invest in the alignment of your employees.

After all, a connected team that is aware of the brand's branding is more agile in identifying threats. As a result, it is also more attentive to the sharing of sensitive data and official company communication. This reduces the chances of errors that can be exploited by imitators.

This can be done through training programs and continuous qualification. Ranging from security workshops to specific guidance on brand identity and values.

Strengthen your digital presence

According to data released by the aforementioned Fortra, more than 90% of companies currently use social media in some way. But do they all have a really strategic presence?

The answer is no: a quick search on any social network is enough to see that most brands are still lost on how to start prioritizing their digital protection. platforms, such as social networks, marketplaces and search engines, making it difficult for imitators to act;Rely on security certificates such as the HTTPS protocol; Perform regular reviews of your brand's digital presence to identify and correct inconsistencies.Rely on specialized support for continuous and in-depth monitoringFor many brands, regardless of size, tracking traffic data, advertising campaigns, and mentions can be exhausting. This is because many of them do not have enough time or hands to maintain this continuous monitoring.

Still, this is an essential step, as this analysis guarantees that your business will always be attentive and will not be surprised by brand impersonation. In addition to demonstrating a strong positioning and rigid active response to cases of fraud, demotivating malicious users.

And that is exactly what we do here at Branddi!

Branddi is the key tool for protecting your brand against branding impersonation

Here, at Branddi, we detect several cases of brand impersonation every day and we see up close how these frauds negatively impact brands. Therefore, we work diligently, combining artificial intelligence, cutting-edge technology and human expertise in the development of a strategic solution. Thus, we are able to build multifaceted and complete protection, neutralizing threats before they impact you.

In this way, if our systems indicate and confirm an action of brand impersonation, we file extrajudicial complaints on more than 5,000 platforms. Among them, registrars, servers, hosting systems, browsers and advertising platforms.

Proof of the success of our actions are our results: 80% reduction in complaints and 99% success in takedowns.

Don't let brand impersonation steal the results and credibility built by your brand. Count on Branddi to sleep peacefully, knowing that your brand is protected!

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