Social media boosts luxury goods counterfeit economy
A new study, Social Media and Luxury Goods Counterfeit, reveals that around a fifth of all items tagged as luxury goods on Instagram are actually fakes. The trend illustrates how the social media platform is contributing to the explosion of the internet’s counterfeit economy, which uses a system of online tools to ship illegal goods around the globe.
Social media – specifically Instagram – represents an important link in the complex chain of the counterfeit economy, which takes a $US29 billion bite out of the luxury goods sector each year, according to the study.
Agri stakeholders hail new anti-smuggling law
A coalition of agriculture stakeholders hailed the signing of Republic Act 10845 or “An Act declaring smuggling of agricultural commodities as economic sabotage.
Under the new law, the amount of smuggled agricultural product subject to economic sabotage is equal or more than Php10 million for rice, and equal or more than Php1 million for other agricultural products such as sugar, corn, pork, poultry, garlic, onion, carrots, fish and cruciferous vegetables.
Smugglers and their cohorts will also face a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural product and the aggregate amount of the taxes, duties and other charges avoided.
Nixa woman sold more than $80 million of Chinese counterfeit cellphone products
A Nixa woman pleaded guilty to selling more than $80 million worth of counterfeit cellphone products. The products were represented by Flash Technology, LLC — which is also known as Flash Tech — to be made by companies like Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Microsoft and more.
Coalition Congratulates Anti-Contraband Enforcement Unit on First Major Bust
OTTAWA: The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco (NCACT) congratulated New Brunswick’s new Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Unit on its first major arrests. The unit announced it had seized almost 170,000 cigarettes in Fredericton following a two-week investigation.Contraband Tobacco is a growing problem in New Brunswick, and the province estimates it loses $13 million annually in lost tax revenues to the trade.
Amazon Counterfeiters a Problem for Artists and Small Businesses
Designers of custom T-shirts, iPhone cases and pillow covers who sell their work through websites like Zazzle and Society6 are seeing copies of their products pop up at an alarming rate on Amazon.
A Facebook group named “Who stole my images?” has more than 350 members documenting examples of copyrighted designs being taken mostly from Zazzle and sold illegally on Amazon.Over the weekend, one artist said she just found 11 more pieces of her work on Amazon, bringing the total number of stolen designs she’d discovered to 88.
Counterfeit alcohol packaging is now more sleek,professional and harder to detect
Some counterfeiters are using ingredients or chemicals which are toxic to the human body to produce cheap fakes, with lifethreatening results.
The problem is the tools fraudsters are using to create realistic, highquality fake packaging are now available at a very low cost, which means counterfeit alcohol now looks sleek, professional and authentic – and much harder to detect with the naked eye.
To address the rise in fake wines and spirits, it is crucial that both alcohol producers and stockists take a proactive approach to educating their customers on how to identify imitations, and regularly search and highlight known counterfeit operations.
$100 million of counterfeit wine in circulation
Research from NetNames suggests that retailers are losing between $300m and $400m annually to copycats and counterfeiters, with wine counterfeit experts estimating that there is $100m of counterfeit wine currently in circulation.
Alcoholic drinks in particular are being regularly targeted by counterfeiters due to their premium price tag and because they are difficult to identify without tasting the product.
http://www.harpers.co.uk/news/100-million-of-counterfeit-wine-in-circulation/536678.article
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UP urged to check counterfeiting over e-commerce
ASPA has urged the UP government for mandating use of authentication marks, such as holograms in products, before they hit the shelves or are sold online, to counter the menace of counterfeits and fakes.
The Association has also launched its industry and consumer centric ‘Make Sure India’ campaign to educate brand owners over the benefits of authentication solutions to curb counterfeiting. This would ensure sale of genuine products and preserve the reputation of brands.
Illegal sites selling smuggled duty-free cigarettes on rise
According to data from Incheon Main Customs, cases of tobacco smuggling increased more than ninefold between 2014 and 2015, from 49 to 449. Illegal sites selling smuggled duty-free cigarettes at low prices have been steadily rising as the excise tax increase last year nearly doubled domestic tobacco prices.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160523000683
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