Identifying counterfeit: online monitoring and offline verification

01Situation

For one of the clients (automotive products), in addition to fulfilling offline goals (i.e. visiting sales outlets, markets, warehouses and initiating raids for the seizure of counterfeit products), Vlasta-Consulting also worked

online (finding ads and sites with technical specifications violations, their subsequent closure).

02Problem

As part of the online program, an ad was found selling questionable products at extremely low prices. Instead of automatically sending a link for take-down, it was decided to conduct an deeper analysis, since there

were grounds for a potential follow-up analysis (the phone number indicated in the ad was also found on a number of other online resources).

03Solution

An initial open-source analysis revealed the following:

A group was discovered on social media, Vkontakte, which was dedicated to offering dubious products

Profiles of group administrators were identified in the group, and they were identified

There were photos in the group posted by these administrators, showing storage rooms with pallets of target products

One of the photos revealed a car of one of the participants loaded with products. The car registration number was also visible in the photo, which helped identify one of the administrators

In a detailed study of the photos of the finished products presented in the group in the warehouse, it was found that one of them had geo-tags. By coordinates, it was possible to establish the actual address of the

warehouse.

All collected information was transferred to work offline. Our experts established contact with the violators, and thanks to the knowledge of the address of the warehouse of the sellers, it was possible to coordinate the

purchase with them directly. The counterfeiting of the products offered was confirmed, as well as the availability of the wholesale quantity of counterfeit products in the warehouse of violators.

04Outcome

Based on the materials collected, Vlasta-Consulting initiated a police raid at the identified address.

As a result, a significant amount of counterfeit goods was seized, and when analyzing the documents received as part of the raid, a connection was established between these violators and the production of counterfeiting, which

was also analysed. This allowed to significantly accelerate the implementation of the police to curb production (the raid at the identified warehouse served in the materials of the production case as the sale of counterfeit

products to the final consumer).

Thus, achieving the goal, which initially was a simple online offer to sell, resulted in a large-scale police action in the warehouses of violators. This also played a significant role in another matter: curbing illegal

proceedings by bringing the organizers to criminal liability.

At the same time, in the absence of an analytical component in the online program, the follow-up would not have been possible and the result of the case would have been a simple closure of one of the many ads on the

Internet.