Most common scams in Brazil

My experience has been not a scam but more from not understanding. The first is two thing now using a international credit card. Look at the machine it will ask if dollars or Reals. You need to choose Brazil Reals the reason if you choose the other your charged additional 12%. Also some seller are now charging a additional .035% tax on top of the charge. The second is ATM when you withdraw from a international machine. It’s asks you want to convert it say no. If you choose that option on 1,000 Reals it will cost you around $20.00 dollars in additional to the conversion.

I have been staying in Brazil since 2021, my bank card information, have been always stolen. They usually steal the card information when paying in restaurants or shops.

Once an Ifood delivery man also stole my bank card information. He stated that my order was cancelled in the app but he brought the food with him and I only had to do the payment by card. Cash and pix were not accepted.

Once I passed my card, I have received a text message to validate a 5000 reais purchase which I did not do.

My advice is to always pay with Google or apple Pay app when the cash or pix aren't accepted. Never directly use your bank card. International cards are a no no, as they can easily be cloned.

@Cheryl

The one challenge I have had in Brazil was not a Scam, but important to know.

1).  I Almost Always use Cash. I used my credit card to pay for gas one time and money was lifted from my account (not much) and used in a Rio de Janeiro ATM. Of course, I live about as far from Rio as anyone else in CEARA. I always shop at Supermercados with the money I am carrying. It is for safety as well as for not falling for NOT counting the credit card usage as money spent.

Roddie in Retirement😎

I have been staying in Brazil since 2021, my bank card information, have been always stolen. They usually steal the card information when paying in restaurants or shops.
Once an Ifood delivery man also stole my bank card information. He stated that my order was cancelled in the app but he brought the food with him and I only had to do the payment by card. Cash and pix were not accepted.
Once I passed my card, I have received a text message to validate a 5000 reais purchase which I did not do.
My advice is to always pay with Google or apple Pay app when the cash or pix aren't accepted. Never directly use your bank card. International cards are a no no, as they can easily be cloned. - @Duroman

Where have you been staying in Brazil since 2021? Maybe this is an indicator of where to avoid?

I have been here over 18 years and never been scammed this way - or any other way that I can recall to be honest.

06/25/25 As soon as I could after opening my Brazilian bank account (there's usually a waiting period, since an expat has no credit history in Brazil) I got a Brazilian Ourocard (Visa) credit card connected to my account.  That's what I use for online purchases in Brazil -- never my foreign cards.  It has a low credit limit and I get a message on my bank app every time it's used.  No problems so far in eight years.

We use the debit card of a joint account not connected to either of our personal accounts for all of our household expenses, and costs like eating out.  It has no credit facility, we control how much is ever in the account.  and we get messages from the bank on activity in that account, too.

Like @NewBrazil, I got caught once by that "do you accept the conversion?"  on an ATM with my foreign debit card, too.  They're asking if you accept the bank's own conversion rate that advantageous to them, but they make it look like the question is whether you want to continue with the transaction or not.  Say "No" -- even though it feels like the wrong answer -- and the transaction reverts to the better (for you) market rate.

@Peter Itamaraca Well, like I said I don`t consider it a scam and it only happened one time, but I live in a very, very small village with almost as many dogs, cats, bulls, chickens, horses and enough small lizards to have a party. Still It is good to keep precautions no matter where you live.

Roddie in Retirement.

@Peter Itamaraca

We were scammed in more or less the same way, just not on iFood.

A fraudulent plumber ordered a piece of rubber for a leaking tap and would come later himself to fix it. Motoboy came with the piece, charged us 3000 in stead of 30 R$. Of course the plumber never arrived and the bank could not refund.

This happened in SP, a place to avoid anyway

By the way:  Brazilian maquininhas only show something like 'tap your card to pay' and don't show the actual amount.

Always be very attentive to the amount people enter in the machine.

Hello all,

Thank you all for sharing your input and experiences on this topic.

We hope they will help newcomers stay informed and avoid potential scams.

Feel free to keep the conversation going if you have more tips or stories to share! 😀

Cheers,

Cheryl

@Duroman

In my eighteen years, I have never had a credit or debit card issue or problem. I rarely carry cash, even using Pix to buy my Ice cream bars on streets. I carry one card out of concern for theft, but I have yet to experience any theft, or see any, even in my years living in downtown SP. (Knock on wood). I drive a lot, everywhere, without issue.  Perhaps it's where you live or shop

Hello all,
Thank you all for sharing your input and experiences on this topic.
We hope they will help newcomers stay informed and avoid potential scams.

Feel free to keep the conversation going if you have more tips or stories to share! 😀

Cheers,

Cheryl - @Cheryl

For me, it's real estate, that's where I have seen way too many scams. People selling places they do not own. Undisclosed liens are a big one. Almost nothing is surveyed, so your house might not be on your property, unfinished projects that never get finished, with or without losing your money. But the worst, and I have seen this several times, is in new construction. A developer buys property, if they ever even owned it, then starts clearing it off for the upcoming construction. At this point, they start selling blue sky, you know, like those professional looking new apartment sales kiosks in your local big shopping mall, or those fancy looking home development projects promising paradise living in a gated community. The developer/seller offers up huge discounts for advanced purchasing. The earlier you give the your bucket load of cash, the bigger the discount to entice you. The seller makes lots of claims as to how fast their development is selling out. Then, one day, you go by where your new home is to be built, and EVERYONE, and EVERYTHING, is gone, along with all of your money, for good.

Sadly, Ray's rule is to never trust a realtor in Brazil. I know there are some really good ones, but this is truly a scam and problem filled industry.