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Eaton Corporation : Eaton Shares New Year’s Purchasing Tips to Promote Safety, Combat Electrical Counterfeiting

Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation announced tips aimed at helping facility owners and contractors identify counterfeit electrical products. The tips can help customers as they take inventory of their current stock and prepare for purchasing in the New Year. Counterfeit electrical products present serious health and safety risks to consumers and to the electrical industry. These products can overheat or cause short circuits, leading to fires, shocks or explosions that can cost people their lives and produce considerable property damage. Although counterfeit products are often less expensive than legitimate products because the manufacturers cut corners, they also present long-term economic risks related to safety and their negative impact on legitimate manufacturers.”While there are laws against counterfeiting in many countries, detection is sometimes difficult and enforcement is lax,” said Tom Grace, brand protection manager, Eaton’s Electrical Sector. “Legitimate manufacturers, distributors and customers must work together to prevent unsafe products from entering the supply chain and causing harm to people and property. By following these tips, customers can become more confident that their facility is free of counterfeit products.”Buy authentic: The best way to avoid counterfeit electrical products is to purchase products from the manufacture’s authorized distributors or resellers. There is a higher risk of counterfeits if one cannot trace the path of commerce to the original manufacturer. Verify authentication: When possible, use tools provided by the original manufacturer or certification organizations to verify electrical products are authentic. This can be done while purchasing, or for products currently owned. Eaton’s new Circuit Breaker Authentication (CBA) tool is designed to allow customers to detect if Eaton molded circuit breakers (MCCBs), up to 400 amperes, are counterfeit. By entering the bar code, part number and date code found on the circuit breaker, the CBA tool is intended to immediately verify authentication. To learn more, or download the CBA tool, visit www.eaton.com/counterfeit.Scrutinize labels and packaging: When purchasing an electronic product, check for certification marks from organizations that certify the quality and performance of electrical products. Avoid products that lack any identifying branding label or affiliation. Be leery of additional markings or labeling not applied by the original manufactures with missing or poor-quality labels, out-of-date product codes and non-genuine packaging. As counterfeiters become more sophisticated, counterfeit products become even more difficult to detect this way, creating an increasing need for additional scrutiny. Avoid “bargains”: When shopping for electrical products, avoid “bargains” that seem too good to be true. Compare the price of that product to a similar product at a different retailer. If it seems too good to be true, the odds are it is. Pay close attention to products purchased: Quality control is often lacking in counterfeiting operations, so you may be able to spot a counterfeit simply based on its workmanship. If it is a product that is purchased habitually, compare the quality and the price of that product at a different retailer. Be cautious of products that seem flimsy or are noticeably poorly made. Make sure everything that should be there, is there: Counterfeit products often don’t include supplementary materials such as owner’s manual or product registration card. Sometimes counterfeiters do not include all the parts that should come with the product, or some parts will be from a different manufacturer. Report suspected counterfeits: If a product is suspected to be counterfeit, it is recommended to contact the brand owner. This will allow authentication of the suspect product and ensure that the potentially unsafe product is removed from the market place. Stopping the sale of counterfeit products is everyone’s responsibility-manufacturers, distributors, resellers (authorized and unauthorized) and customers alike,” said Grace. “Implementing these tips into inventory and purchasing practices is a big way for customers to help keep counterfeit products out of their facilities and the demand for counterfeits down.”Eaton is committed to stopping counterfeiting of electrical products worldwide. Its electrical business has adopted a strict policy for counterfeiting and is committed to anti-counterfeiting technologies and programs. Eaton’s electrical business is a global leader in power distribution, power quality, control and automation, power monitoring, and energy management products and services. Eaton is positioned, through its global electrical product series and solutions to answer today’s most critical electrical power management challenges. Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company with more than 100 years of experience providing energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. With 2011 sales of $16.0 billion, Eaton is a global technology leader in electrical components, systems and services for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and power train systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton has approximately 74,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries.

132 online counterfeit sites seized in Cyber Monday blitz

ICE agents seized 101 domain names in the United States and 31 were taken over by officers in Britain, Romania, Belgium, France and Denmark and by Europol, the European Police Office, ICE Director John Morton said. The sites, many linked to organized crime, were selling fake goods that ranged from National Football League jerseys and Nike Inc shoes to Adobe Systems Inc software, he said.”There is much money to be made out there duping consumers and that is what is going on,” Morton said on a conference call. Investigations are ongoing and more sites will be seized in coming days. In the United States, 41 rights owners’ merchandise was being sold on the seized sites, Morton said.ICE said in a statement that one U.S. arrest had been made.The crackdown marks the third year that ICE has targeted websites selling counterfeit goods on Cyber Monday, the online shopping spree. It is the first time the agency has carried out the operation with European police. The Cyber Monday seizures raise the total number of U.S. sites taken over to 1,630 since ICE began its anti-counterfeit campaign in June 2010.PayPal accounts identified with the sites and holding a total of more than $175,000 are being targeted for seizure, the ICE statement said. Morton put the scale of online piracy in the billions of dollars. Much of the online counterfeiting is in China and other parts of Asia, and U.S. authorities are working with China on the problem, he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/26/usa-retail-counterfeit-idUSL1E8MQ50I20121126

Workshop on ‘identification, counterfeit recognition’ ends

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) concluded the series of workshops on “Identification on Counterfeit Recognition” held in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The discussion was held regarding tax complaint cigarette industry in the workshops. FBR receives 39 percent of its FED and 3.5 percent of total tax revenue from legitimate cigarette industry. Speaking on the occasion, Director General of Training and Research Inland Revenue, Ansar Javed said illegal cigarette industry has gradually grown to become one of the largest tax evaders in our economy.“Unfortunately Pakistan ranks among the top ten countries in the world when it comes to illegal cigarette trade and the actual figures to the loss of national exchequer might be closer to Rs 40 to 50 billion, he added. He further added about 18.5 per cent of the cigarette industry in Pakistan comprises of either smuggled products or products on which the due levies are not paid. Underlining the importance of increase in tax net, Ansar Javed deplored the fact that country’s tax to GDP ratio is merely 10.2, which is a dismal 155th in the world and one of the lowest in the region.“Such a huge revenue loss from just one sector is unacceptable.” he stated. He also acknowledged the inherent weaknesses of his organization and conceded the FBR is still far from completely resolving this problem. Director General Human Resource Management FBR, Rana Seerat said expertise in the identification of illicit or counterfeit cigarettes is the first step towards finding a panacea for the evil of illegal cigarette trade and in that perspective such training provide the foundation on which all further efforts by FBR would be based.“The extent of tax evasion and illicit trade in this country puts huge pressure on our economy and also unjustifiably burdens the compliant taxpayers,” she added. She sounded positive that if we can pull our act together and succeed in improving our tax to GDP ratio, all other problems will be tackled. The interesting aspect of the training workshop was thorough and detailed presentations made by officials of PMPKl (formerly Lakson Tobacco) who narrated their side of the story and the woes accompanied them.

Texas business owner sentenced in counterfeit circuit breaker scheme

A 63-year-old Austin, Texas, man was sentenced  in Jacksonville to a year and a day in federal prison for mail fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods and services. The court also ordered Elod Tamas “Nick” Toldy to pay $59,653.97 in restitution to the victims of the offenses.According to court documents, from 2008 until April 2010, Toldy used his electronics firm Pioneer Breaker and Control Supply in Austin to market counterfeit circuit breakers through eBay. Undercover agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations purchased numerous counterfeit circuit breakers from Toldy bearing the names “Zinsco” and “Stab-lok.” “Zinsco” is a trademark held by Connecticut Electric Inc. “Stab-lok” is a registered trademark held by American Circuit Breaker Corporation.On April 21, 2010, HSI agents executed a federal search warrant at Pioneer Breaker and Control Supply and seized more than 20,000 counterfeit electronic products. A subsequent search warrant executed in Laredo, Texas, resulted in the seizure of an additional 77,000 counterfeit circuit breakers. Agents also seized 60,000 counterfeit labels bearing the trademark for United Laboratories. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the legitimate products that were the subject of the counterfeiting scheme was more than $4.7 million.”Trafficking in counterfeit goods is a serious problem. In this particular case, an individual was marketing counterfeit circuit breakers to unsuspecting consumers, which poses significant safety implications,” said Sue McCormick, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Tampa, which oversees the agency’s Jacksonville office. “In light of the holiday shopping season being right around the corner, I urge consumers to protect themselves. Buy from legitimate retailers. Otherwise, you may put your health and safety at ris

One In Five Online Shoppers Buy Fake Goods

One in five online shoppers hunting for a bargain is tricked into buying counterfeit goods, according to a new consumer report conducted by MarkMonitor. The study revealed that 20 per cent of people based in Europe and the US browsing for discounted designer products on the internet mistakenly end up purchasing from fraudulent websites. “Consumers are being waylaid by rogue e-commerce sits, causing brands to lose business,” said Fredrick Felman, chief marketing officer of MarkMonitor. “The findings from the shopping report underscore the importance of developing proactive protection strategies in the digital age.” MarkMonitor – part of the Thomson Reuters stable – surveyed online users in six countries over a period of nine months, monitoring around 9 million shopping sessions and approximately 9,000 different websites, reports WWD. The study also established that for every one customer intentionally purchasing fake goods, 20 were just hunting for a good deal. The findings follow the news that the US and Chinese governments have teamed up to close a designer handbag counterfeit operation worth over £500 million – which lead to 73 people being arrested.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2012/11/21/fake-designer-goods—shoppers-tricked-into-buying-online—counterfeit-products

ICC Commercial Crime Services: CIB offer human-based investigations to beat counterfeit-peddling websites

The ICC Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau (CIB) is urging a radical change in strategic thinking when it comes to tackling the huge growth in websites selling counterfeit goods. CIB argues that key to combating the problem is an understanding of its magnitude. For example a recent CIB investigation, undertaken on behalf of a member, into a single website selling counterfeit products uncovered links to more than 2000 websites selling fake versions of products by over 80 brand holders. The central issue is the ease with which counterfeiters can set up batches of websites with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) at the same time, often with limited differences between them. When one of these websites is shut down, it has a ready replacement that can be accessed from major search engines using the similar terms. CIB Assistant Director Max Vetter commented: “It is, effectively, a numbers game. At the moment the counterfeiters are winning because the ISPs do not scrutinise the sites that they host- their sole interest is in getting their hosting fee. Most ISPs lack the will or mechanisms to spot the websites selling fakes- even though, in practice, this would be a relatively simple procedure.” The CIB approach is to produce an intelligence package on each website that they investigate. Using covert techniques and a human-based approach, as opposed to running algorithms in the way many companies do, the aim is to establish a clear picture of the entire network operated by the counterfeiters. Gaining this snapshot before a website is closed down is vital since it provides a number of leads on where the perpetrators may set up shop next. Once the intelligence has been collected and collated it can be used by the CIB member in more than one way. Mr Vetter continued: “Whilst our intelligence packages can be used for criminal prosecutions, our members do not always use this avenue given a cost/benefit analysis- in many jurisdictions, anti-counterfeiting has low priority so litigation may be costly and ineffective. An alternative to prosecution (ATP) can be used to get websites shut down quickly, avoiding the costly legal avenue. CIB can deploy several ATP techniques, thus making the exercise more cost-effective.”

http://www.4-traders.com/news/ICC-Commercial-Crime-Services-CIB-offer-human-based-investigations-to-beat-counterfeit-peddling-we–15512597/

Passaic County Man Arrested in Multi-Year, International Counterfeit Goods Trafficking Scheme

A Passaic County, New Jersey man was arrested today on charges that he participated in a multi-year, international conspiracy to import and sell counterfeit goods, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Aref Abuhadba, 49, of Totowa, New Jersey, self-surrendered on 12th morning to special agents of the FBI on a federal criminal complaint charging him with conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods. According to the complaint unsealed from 2003 through 2010, Abuhadba and others allegedly conspired to import counterfeit Nike sneakers and counterfeit Walt Disney-brand comforters and blankets from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for resale in the United States. Abuhadba worked with a co-conspirator in the PRC who acted as a middleman between the manufacturers of counterfeit goods in the PRC and Abuhadba in the United States. The co-conspirator purchased counterfeit goods from manufacturers and arranged for containers of counterfeit goods to be shipped from the PRC to various ports of entry within the United States. Once the containers arrived in the United States, other co-conspirators arranged for them to be delivered to warehouses and other locations throughout the United States controlled by Abuhadba. Abuhadba then distributed the counterfeit goods to customers throughout the United States. In addition to distributing and selling counterfeit goods, Abuhadba was also responsible for collecting money from customers and wiring the proceeds of the scheme to the PRC co-conspirator and elsewhere. For his participation, Abuhadba received a fee of up to $42,000 for each container that was successfully imported into the United States. If a container was seized by law enforcement, however, Abuhadba was sometimes responsible for a portion of the costs of the goods in the seized container. According to e-mails reviewed by law enforcement during the investigation, the defendant and his co-conspirators imported at least 70 containers of counterfeit Nike sneakers and Walt Disney products. In late 2008, a number of these containers were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and their contents were valued in the millions. On September 17, 2008, CBP officers at Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport in Long Beach, California, inspected a container destined for Abuhadba in New Jersey. It was found to contain more than 10,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike Air Force One sneakers bearing various Nike trademarks. The cost of the goods seized was $201,600, and their retail value was approximately $1.5 million. Following the 2008 seizures, Abuhadba exchanged numerous e-mails with the PRC co-conspirator discussing the seizures and encouraged the PRC co-conspirator to send false letters to CBP concerning the seizures, stating that the seized containers were misdelivered and were not intended for Abuhadba. The count with which the defendant is charged carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross amount of gain or loss sustained by any victim.U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. He also thanked officers of Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Director of New York Field Operations Robert E. Perez, for their role in the case.

http://www.fbi.gov/newark/press-releases/2012/passaic-county-man-arrested-in-multi-year-international-counterfeit-goods-trafficking-scheme

Fake goods seized in Darlington

Darlington police seized thousands of pounds worth of fake designer items in a raid at a house on the Red Hall estate. The counterfeit goods included Gucci, Chanel, Bulgari and Armani-branded watches as well as fake Louis Vuitton and Gucci handbags, counterfeit Ugg boots and Barbour jackets. A man pleaded guilty to possession of counterfeit goods with a view to selling them at Darlington Magistrates’ Court last month and was fined £640.  The goods, thought to amount to several thousands of pounds in value, were handed to Darlington Council’s trading standards team for investigation and will now be destroyed. Chris McEwan, Darlington Council’s cabinet member leading on trading standards, said: “Making and selling counterfeit goods is not a victimless crime – these goods, and the people who sell them on, have a huge impact on legitimate traders who are trying to go about their business in today’s tough times. People buying the items are also possibly at risk – who knows what quality and standards the items are. “The hard work of the police and trading standards have made sure these fake goods will be off the streets and destroyed but the sad fact is more could be in circulation already.

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/…/10038288.Fake_goods_seized

OtterBox Wins Favorable Judgment in Counterfeiting Case

OtterBox® has become one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, despite a sluggish economy. The company is recognized globally for providing premiere protective solutions for handheld technology and counterfeiters make attempts every day to replicate the Colorado-based company’s successes. OtterBox, taking necessary action to combat infringements and protect its intellectual property to the fullest extent of the law, was recently granted a $10 million judgment against a major Texas-based counterfeiting ring. The recent judgment granted by Judge Dean D. Pregerson on Oct. 19, 2012 includes a significant monetary award plus substantial attorney’s fees for the sale of at least 20,000 counterfeit OtterBox Defender Series® cases from one eBay seller over the past 10 months. The judgment also carries a permanent injunction against the seller from pursuing similar conduct in the future. All remaining inventory is to be supplied to OtterBox and all financial institutions are required to freeze activity they may have ongoing with the seller. “As the OtterBox brand continues to strengthen, we will see infringement become a prolific, constant battle,” OtterBox Founder and Chairman Curt Richardson said. “For us, protecting intellectual property has become another cost of doing business, right alongside materials, labor and shipping. We are prepared and vigilant for an ongoing, but very vital, battle.”OtterBox is working with federal and state law enforcement not only in the United States but across Europe, China and Australia to stop the detrimental manufacturing and trade of counterfeit cases.“We are one of the most popular counterfeited brands worldwide,” OtterBox Brand Protection Manager John McKinney said. “We take aggressive action to protect our brand and ensure customers are purchasing authentic, quality OtterBox product.”