The news: Social media scams are pervasive, risking consumers’ trust in unfamiliar brands and in how companies and platforms are protecting them.

• Over half (56%) of US consumers have been scammed while online shopping and 77% have encountered an online scam or attempted scam, per Clutch.
• 92% are worried about how scams influence their purchase decisions.

The reputational spillover is particularly significant: Half (54%) say their confidence in a brand declines after encountering a scam related to it, even if the brand wasn’t directly responsible. This means brands need to react quickly to mitigate any backlash if their name was involved.

Digging into the data: Scams are changing how consumers evaluate brands in digital environments and affecting the purchase journey. High levels of exposure to fraud—including through non-existent companies or fake ads—suggest that scams are becoming a standard part of the online buying experience, shifting trust from a marketing asset to a vulnerability.

Consumers’ inability to separate brands from scams related to the company—despite it being unaware of the scam—shows they’re not separating bad actors from legitimate businesses. This poses a disadvantage to emerging brands that rely on social commerce and don’t have the built-in credibility that well-known companies do.

Recommendations for brands: Brands that invest in scam prevention can turn safety into a differentiator.

• Display clear verification badges.
• Proactively communicate about fraud protection.
• Monitor for scammy reviews, ads, or messages and act quickly to remove them.

Safety messaging can reduce friction and boost conversion, and brands that consistently protect customers build a reservoir of trust that cushions them during scam or impersonation attempts.

This can increase repeat purchase rates, strengthen word-of-mouth recommendations, and establish a status of being a default safe choice—especially as consumers grow more wary of unfamiliar social advertisers.

This content is part of EMARKETER’s subscription Briefings, where we pair daily updates with data and analysis from forecasts and research reports. Our Briefings prepare you to start your day informed, to provide critical insights in an important meeting, and to understand the context of what’s happening in your industry. Non-clients can click here to get a demo of our full platform and coverage.