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Crime The Internet

Amazon To Ramp Up Counterfeit Reporting To Law Enforcement (reuters.com) 73

Posted by BeauHD from the cracking-down dept.
Amazon is planning to give more data on counterfeit goods to law enforcement in a further crackdown on fakes listed on its e-commerce sites. Reuters reports: In the past, the world's largest online retailer has informed authorities of counterfeit peddlers when it thought it had enough information for police to pursue a culprit. Now, the company plans to disclose merchant information to European and U.S. federal authorities every time it confirms a counterfeit was sold to customers, increasing the frequency and volume of reporting to law enforcement, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Why the new program was happening now was not immediately clear. In recent weeks, Amazon has held meetings with government authorities and related organizations to discuss its new counterfeit reporting strategy and how the company can further their enforcement efforts, the person said. The hope has been that Amazon's coveted data will help law enforcement make connections about criminals. According to the source, Amazon will report a merchant's name, company name, product and contact information to authorities, after it confirms a business was selling fakes, closes the seller's account, and the account holder does not make a successful appeal via Amazon's typical processes.
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Amazon To Ramp Up Counterfeit Reporting To Law Enforcement More

Amazon To Ramp Up Counterfeit Reporting To Law Enforcement

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  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • I suspect they've been dragging their feet because it's been profitable for them.

      Turning yourself in is indeed a hard pill to swallow. ;)

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      They need to clean their own house first. Recently got a fake tube of Acrylic Cement, sold by Amazon themselves.

      Here is the listing: https://www.amazon.com/SCIGRIP-10315-Acrylic-Cement-Low-VOC/dp/B003HNFLMY [amazon.com]

      "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com". Check out the pictures.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by lgw ( 121541 )

        That's an awesome picture (scroll down to the customer pictures). But that's so much effort for the counterfeit; really makes you wonder what's going on.

        The thing I am sure about is that Amazon can easily fix cases like this. They have a process in place for things like "pull every single item with this UPC out of the bins, check each one, count the fakes, and either junk them all or re-bin the good ones. They even have a station in some warehouses to do that for DVDs - pull each copy of a title, unseal

        • Grey market typically falls into 2 camps..

          Expired warranty due to excessive shelf life. Such as products that are warrantied by mfr date.

          Items sold in other markets like australia at prices well below north american pricing. I once bought a polycom vvx marked as new being sold _way_ below the cost a registered reseller could acquire from a tier 1 wholesale authorized distributor. There was a required pamphlet inside advising on your consumer rights under australian telecom laws.

          Neither are going to grant yo

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by lgw ( 121541 )

      I suspect they've been dragging their feet because it's been profitable for them

      Outright fraud isn't profitable to them, because Amazon eats the loss in some cases (where the seller just takes the money and runs). I suspect this is one motivation for them.

      They've been so damn sloppy for so many years now about "fake, but not obviously fake" goods that they must be coming out ahead. If most customers don't bother with a refund, or the seller actually honors the refunds (which does happen, if the refund rate it low enough the scammer will just keep going), it's all good for Amazon, exc

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      It's about freaking time!!!

      Naa, they will not do anything effective. They will just fake doing something and that will be it. Unless and until Amazon becomes legally responsible for fakes and all the damage they do, nothing will change.

  • ... is low-hanging fruit.

    Deep fakes, however ...

  • Amazon to ramp up fake lipservice efforts (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Shadow of Eternity ( 795165 ) on Tuesday January 21, 2020 @07:57PM (#59642858)

    while continuing to do absolutely nothing because their business model is selling all of us to chinese counterfeiters.

    Amazon has one of the most advanced logistics systems in the world right now. They could solve the entire problem in a single day if they actually cared. They don't. They want it to LOOK like they're doing something while continuing to do everything in their power to actively enable the mass numbers of chinese counterfeiters who are their actual customers.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kjella ( 173770 )

      Even if that was true there's probably a tipping point where too many counterfeits becomes a liability for Amazon, they don't want a customer revolt or threats of regulation. So it's quite possible they want to move the needle back to the sweet spot.

    • They could solve the entire problem in a single day if they actually cared.

      No they couldn't. That's hyperbole. It makes everything else you said look hysterical.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      It's mostly not the Chinese, it's western companies doing it.

      The way the scam works is that Amazon used product codes, so if you are selling an item with the same product code you get added to the list of sellers for that item. If you are the cheapest you become the default option.

      So all you have to do is find something popular with good reviews and substitute your cheap crap using the same product code. For a while people will buy it expecting the well reviewed one. Amazon's review systems helps you keep t

    • My money is on this scenario. Since there is an appeal process that is probably farmed out to India one of two things will happen. A> The appeal process is a farce. Everything is rubber stamped as an accident and the vendors keep selling takes B> The people who handle the appeals take the bribes that would normally be sent to customers and claim the product is real. Neither possibility is pro customer.

  • And nothing of value was lost (Score:5, Insightful)

    by aeropage ( 6536406 ) on Tuesday January 21, 2020 @08:18PM (#59642902)
    I'm deeply concerned that my "Gucci" handbag is not "Gucci", but is rather something that functions exactly the same, and looks exactly the same.

    Gucci needs more wealth in exchange for nothing.

    • I'm deeply concerned that my "Gucci" handbag is not "Gucci", but is rather something that functions exactly the same, and looks exactly the same.

      I'm deeply concerned that my fake charger is no the right brand but something that functions exactly the same right up until it catches fire because it's a cheap unsafe design.

    • I miss being able to buy Foakleys. The M2 XL is the only thing that fits my head without giving me headaches. I can get third party replacement lenses just fine but not frames. I haven't even seen them at flea markets. Fucking Luxotica is winning.

    • People have been blinded because they unknowingly purchased counterfeit solar glasses that were unfit for actually viewing a solar eclipse.

      People have died when counterfeit phone chargers that lacked the proper safety mechanisms electrocuted them.

      Legitimate companies have gone bustbecause low quality counterfeit items beyond their control have ruined their good name, resulting in sales drying up.

      This isn't about Gucci having to earn their name-brand tax. This is about companies receiving what's due them, bo

  • Does this mean I'll no longer be able to buy "Genuine" Apple chargers at 2 for a buck?

    I mean, yeah, sometimes they short out and destroy my wife's iPhone, and yes, they occasionally catch fire and burn my house down, but who wants to pay $11.99 for a better quality counterfeit?

    Oh suuuuuure, I could spend $22 for the "real" thing, but jeez, I might as well just go to the Apple Store and let them ass-rape my wallet in person.

  • Another thing that needs to be policed are the items such as the 1 and 2 terabyte SD cards. Largest I've seen for real so far is a 512 gigabyte SD card. They shouldn't even have those sorts of things listed.

    • Uh, 1 TB cards are supposed to be the WORM version of the product... 2 TB, is (bleep).

      • Looked around, found a 1GB WORM card from 2010, Did find some news about a legitimate 1TB card from Lexar, very recently released, I think, and the price matches the expected storage volume of the device.

        https://www.theverge.com/circu... [theverge.com]

        The items I was considering when I wrote the comment were more along this line. From Amazon.ca (I'm in Canada, Amazon.com might or might not list it and the URL was just too long to quote here) GICHLL 1TB Micro SD SDXC Memory Card for only $49.99 and there are more like i

    • It's harsh but I actually think that is about the only thing that will solve the issue, Amazon currently do not have enough incentive to do anything significant about the issue and just look to pass the buck to someone else (In this case the authorities). They need to be forced to man up and address the issue they created with the way they run the marketplace.
      • It would also be a good idea to have Amazon's stock investigated in their sweatshops. If a certain number of fakes are found "mixed in" with products that have no business having fakes (brand-name products, especially things like Apple), then the entire stock is confiscated and destroyed, and Amazon is left with the bill.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DogDude ( 805747 )
      Hahahahahahahahahaha

      I'm sorry. I'm in the US, and in the US, we have zero consumer protections. Zero. The idea that the US is going to pass any laws that might make the "job creators" earn a penny less than they think they deserve is absurd. Amazon will continue to do whatever they choose to do with no repercussions, whatsoever.

  • Just to make sure did a search for "1tb usb". Sure enough prominently placed on first page with over 265 (mostly misapplied as typical) ratings... what a "d(st)eal" @ only $19.99... and this an item "fulfilled by Amazon".

    Obvious fraudulent items are not only being listed on Amazon they are physically going through Amazon's warehouses and being shipped by Amazon...

    Still can't manage to understand the means by which Amazon is not being held liable. Surely they must get the complaints... they must know.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DogDude ( 805747 )
      till can't manage to understand the means by which Amazon is not being held liable.

      What laws in the US are they breaking? And since when has the US enforced pro-consumer laws against ANY company that makes "campaign contributions"?

  • Liability Issue (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Retired ICS ( 6159680 ) on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @12:12AM (#59643356)

    "In the past, the world's largest online retailer has informed authorities of counterfeit peddlers when it thought it had enough information for police to pursue a culprit. Now, the company plans to disclose merchant information to European and U.S. federal authorities every time it confirms a counterfeit was sold to customers, increasing the frequency and volume of reporting to law enforcement"

    "Why the new program was happening now was not immediately clear."

    It is only "not immediately clear" if you are a stupid dumbfuck that does not understand the legal system and how it works.

    If Amazon fails to notify self-proclaimed authorities when Amazon confirms that they enabled the sale of a counterfeit product (and that does not have anything to do with there being enough information for those self-proclaimed authorities to persecute the supplier) then they will be found liable for "conspiracy to distribute counterfeit goods" because they *knew* the good was counterfeit, yet willfully and with knowledge *chose* to do nothing about it.

    Conversely, if Amazon notifies the self-proclaimed authorities EVERY SINGLE TIME they have knowledge that they distributed a counterfeit product, then it is very difficult if not impossible to be held liable in an action against them for conspiracy to distribute counterfeit product. An action based on reckless disregard will fail, and an action based on negligence will be very difficult.

    Quite likely someone sent a nastygram threatening legal action to Amazon, and the Amazon's laywers analyzed the liability and devised a well thought out and low cost "action plan" to limit their legal liability. This is the primary job of Corporate Legal Departments.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      How are they going to confirm that the item was counterfeit?

      My understanding is that it's illegal to send counterfeit goods through the post so the buyer can't even return them for inspection. Ebay has a policy of asking them to destroy the item and send proof (a photo) for that reason, which has lead to some major screw-ups with people destroying real items.

      Anyway say it's a watch, does Amazon employ experts who can tell if the watch is counterfeit?

    • Conversely, if Amazon notifies the self-proclaimed authorities EVERY SINGLE TIME they have knowledge that they distributed a counterfeit product, then it is very difficult if not impossible to be held liable in an action against them for conspiracy to distribute counterfeit product.

      Exactly. This is the physical-goods version of responding to a takedown notice. Someone says it's fake? Notify the authorities. You're not actually fixing the problem, just telling them it's been reported. Now it's in their hands.

  • Amazon has ways for companies to restrict the sale of its products on the platform (e.g. a company can tell Amazon that sale of its products on the site is only allowed by sellers approved by the company). Companies who's items are high targets for counterfeit goods on Amazon (companies like Apple, NVIDIA, Nike, Rolex and others) should take action and restrict those sales. If the only people allowed to sell the products on Amazon are those who are authorized by the company to do so, the counterfeit goods s

  • That they are the largest fencing of stolen goods operation in the world. And, that that fact might be being realized by law enforcement.

  • If someone is selling obviously counterfeit goods, and I walk up to him with a big bag, shove all his obvious fakes into it, and walk off, can I be charged with theft?
    • IANAL, but I'll bet the answer is yes. Furthermore, in the US of A, he'll pull out his gun and invoke the "Stand Your Ground" laws.

      Capitalism: a system invented by thieves and advocated by bullies

  • "Now, the company plans to disclose merchant information to European and U.S. federal authorities every time it confirms a counterfeit was sold to customers"

    Two things: First, they say nothing about reporting to customers, and secondly since most fakes are out of China, BFD on alerting US and EU authorities. Amazon has more clout and care than either: If someone sells counterfeits, ban them. Make all new sellers provide a business license to prove that the weren't conceived the day before.

    The Amazon ma

  • Amazon does not verify that an item is counterfeit. All they do is wait for a customer complaint then suspend the item or seller. The seller then has to jump through hoops to prove that the item is genuine and the customer just wants a free item. This system has also been weaponized by Chinese sellers to shut down competition. They claim to be the rights holder and file take down notices for similar products or any competition. Even a letter from the actual rights holder is not enough in some cases.

  • They don't seem to care about honesty by grouping reviews, which start with one star.

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