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Tourism: last peak season recorded around 60,000 digital scam attempts linked to the sector

branddi · Published on March 19, 2026 · Updated on April 10, 2026

Summer and the high tourism season in Brazil also mark a period of greater exposure to online fraud in the sector. The growing search for tickets, accommodation and tourist packages increases the activity of scammers, who take advantage of seasonality and a time when consumers are more willing to invest in leisure to carry out scams in the digital environment.

Internal data from Branddi, a specialist in brand protection in the digital environment, reinforces this scenario. Between December 2025 and February 2026,59,593 instances of misuse of brands in the tourism sector were identified. The volume represents an average of more than 660 occurrences per day during the summer.

The numbers correspond to four big names in the segment monitored by the company. The brands analyzed, consolidated in the market, operate on different aspects of tourism, including travel package services, airline tickets, resort rentals and exchange assistance.

According to Branddi, 97% of recorded occurrences are related to the practice known as brand bidding. Brand bidding occurs when third parties (unfair competitors or affiliates) buy keywords related to a brand's name in sponsored ads, usually in search engines, to attract consumers looking for the original company. By clicking on the ad, the user can be directed to unofficial websites, which simulate legitimate services or attempt to capture personal and financial data.

For Diego Daminelli, CEO of Branddi, the practice tends to grow precisely at times of greater demand for travel: "Periods such as summer and school holidays increase the volume of searches for tickets, packages and accommodation. This increase in demand opens space for scammers to use the name of well-known brands in sponsored advertisements to attract consumers and direct them to unofficial pages.”

According to him, the typical excitement of the period can also lead consumers to relax some precautions during the purchase. "This is also a time when consumers are excited to rest, take vacations and travel and often end up neglecting some important steps to identify digital scams. Prices well below the market, advertising on suspicious profiles, ads without reviews or payment requests outside official platforms are some warning signs that need to be viewed with suspicion", he explains.

In addition to the direct risk to consumers, the impact also falls on companies in the sector, which may suffer loss of traffic on their official channels, financial losses and damage to the brand's reputation.

Methodology

To carry out the study, information from Branddi's internal database was used, considering the period from December 2025 to February 2026. Throughout the survey, four brands in the tourism segment were analyzed, seeking to translate the general scenario of the sector.

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