The last frontier of counterfeiting? Is called “hidden links“. «These are posts, apparently legitimate and also captivating, on social media, which propose the sale of original products, such as clothing, shoes, watches. Inside is a code. If it is clicked or reproduced with a copy-paste in a precise point, a “catalog” of apparently original products, but in reality false, opens up. The price can put you on alert. In reality, counterfeit products are offered by exploiting, in a “parasitic” way, the strength of the brand of the original ».
As explained by Mario Peserico, CEO of Eberhard Italia, president of Assorologi and of Indicam (the association that brings together multinationals and major brands to protect intellectual property and against counterfeiting) – for some time now, social networks have been the new “highway “Of counterfeiting. On the hidden links – a phenomenon that has been active for a couple of years but is already widespread – Indicam has carried out a study.
«We have studied the phenomenon in a specific sector, that of watches – explains Peserico -. But it applies to everyone. Whenever a potential buyer enters the code for the purchase of the fake product, in fact, he does not write a product-code but that of a procurer of that good. Who will take care of procuring and sending it, in exchange for a commission or a percentage, which in many cases is also a transaction in the black or via cryptocurrencies. Many “small packages” extremely difficult to intercept by the Authorities ».
62% of purchases to those who know they are buying a fake
After all, the latest OECD-Euipo study informs us that 62% of counterfeit and pirated imported products, sold in Italy in 2019, have reached consumers who are aware that they are buying fakes. With percentages ranging from 31.9% for motor vehicles, cycles and motorcycles to 64.4% for clothing, footwear, leather goods and accessories.
“The pandemic, with the dizzying increase in legal (but also illegal) e-commerce – adds Peserico – and above all the purchase from mobilewhich reduces visibility and facilitates deception, are amplifying the false via social ».