Fraudsters repeatedly abuse Amazon to sell counterfeits or fake products. Now, with the help of BMW, Amazon was able to put a stop to such a fraud network.
According to Handelsblatt, the fraudsters posted tens of thousands of items for sale on Amazon Marketplace that bore the BMW logo. These included, for example, key rings or valve caps that claimed to be original parts from the Bavarian automobile manufacturer. Anyone who is interested in BMW fan items and the like knows: original BMW accessories are expensive.
In these cases, however, the alleged BMW products offered on Amazon Marketplace were all counterfeits. Amazon’s automatic security check noticed various irregularities and the internal check confirmed suspicions against the providers. Amazon then blocked the sales accounts.
However, the sales wanted to have the ban lifted and submitted fake certificates and receipts to prove the alleged authenticity of their products. Amazon then consulted experts from BMW and together the two companies were able to catch the fraudsters. Amazon handed over all data and evidence about the counterfeit products to the authorities.
A Spanish court has now convicted the fraudsters in a civil lawsuit. According to the Handelsblatt, the fraudsters not only have to stop selling their products throughout the EU, but also have to pay damages to BMW and Amazon.
Amazon told Handelsblatt that it would remove around six million counterfeit products from its platform every year. Almost 75 percent of all counterfeits discovered come from the People’s Republic of China, and another 8.4 percent from Hong Kong, which is part of China. 9.7 percent of counterfeits come from Turkey. With the Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU), Amazon has a special investigation team that also uses AI to track down counterfeits.
