How we prevent counterfeit, fraud, and other forms of abuse
We recently released our brand protection report, which outlines our commitment to the authenticity of goods sold in our store and to holding bad actors accountable, to protect your businesses and help you grow.
In 2023, we invested more than $1.2 billion and employed more than 15,000 people—including machine learning scientists, software developers, and expert investigators—dedicated to protecting customers, brands, sellers, and our store from counterfeit, fraud, and other forms of abuse.
The report outlines the progress we’ve made, including the following highlights:
- In 2023, we identified, seized, and appropriately disposed of more than 7 million counterfeit products worldwide, preventing them from harming customers or being resold elsewhere in the retail supply chain.
- Since its launch in 2020, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit has pursued more than 21,000 bad actors through litigation and criminal referrals to law enforcement.
- Our proactive controls blocked more than 99% of suspected infringing listings before a brand ever had to find and report them.
- While the number of products available for sale in our store has continued to grow since 2020, we have seen a decrease of more than 30% in the total valid notices of infringement submitted by brands.
We remain committed to continued innovation and will not rest until we drive counterfeits to zero.
For more detailed updates on our strategic areas of focus and the progress we’ve made, go to brand protection report.
To report abusive customers or sellers, go to report abuse.
How we prevent counterfeit, fraud, and other forms of abuse
We recently released our brand protection report, which outlines our commitment to the authenticity of goods sold in our store and to holding bad actors accountable, to protect your businesses and help you grow.
In 2023, we invested more than $1.2 billion and employed more than 15,000 people—including machine learning scientists, software developers, and expert investigators—dedicated to protecting customers, brands, sellers, and our store from counterfeit, fraud, and other forms of abuse.
The report outlines the progress we’ve made, including the following highlights:
- In 2023, we identified, seized, and appropriately disposed of more than 7 million counterfeit products worldwide, preventing them from harming customers or being resold elsewhere in the retail supply chain.
- Since its launch in 2020, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit has pursued more than 21,000 bad actors through litigation and criminal referrals to law enforcement.
- Our proactive controls blocked more than 99% of suspected infringing listings before a brand ever had to find and report them.
- While the number of products available for sale in our store has continued to grow since 2020, we have seen a decrease of more than 30% in the total valid notices of infringement submitted by brands.
We remain committed to continued innovation and will not rest until we drive counterfeits to zero.
For more detailed updates on our strategic areas of focus and the progress we’ve made, go to brand protection report.
To report abusive customers or sellers, go to report abuse.
12 replies
Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh
considering the general topic of the majority of threads on the forum recently, I’d say you have wildly misread the room on what news reads wish to hear!
Seller_IQo80d99W2DzP
I am sure most are not really counterfeit. Perhaps whan an item arrives in FBA, check it.
Check on Amazon, nearly all made-up brands, not real ones. Same item sold many times, all with different brand names in the title, but the item only has a sticky label on the items plain packaging, to be different.
Then, an old listing details may say Connects to Sony, rather than Compatible with Sony, as is now required, so that is down as a fake, when it was just a Seller being helpful.
I have personally bought many items, none have been fakes, many just generic items without a brand on them, or with a different unknown brand on them. However, used but sold as new is far more common!
It is a waste of 15,000 staff, although I guess 14,999 are programming Bots.
Seller_1EILBoGozr6IE
Money and time spent of counterfeit measures , great!
but.. where's the details about staff and money spent to counter customer's fraud and abuse?
Seller_zWpliaCE34XT0
it’s a shame then to see so much fake media still being sold. Amazon recently prosecuted a Chinese company for selling fake copies of Rings of Power yet the very same set is being sold in the UK on Amazon right now. Often the sellers are using FBA and if shut down just pop up with a new ID. I m sure there is the same issue with software and gaming too.
Seller_0UsCN5pKkU6bJ
Just type in "Nintendo DS cartridge" into the search and see the pages of counterfeits!!!! So I'm not sure where all their effort goes? I've given up reporting them.
Seller_xU4h6ZbAduf0O
It's interesting to see that the title has the word FRAUD in it, and the report outline shows what Amazon has done to protect themselves with counterfeit goods and bad actors.
Where is the CUSTOMER fraud details ?
How many customers have you pursued for abuse and defrauding 3rd party sellers?
Where are the stats to show what measures you have taken to protect sellers, in example... a customer sends back an empty box or a different item and you refuse any claim made?
Or a customer makes a fraudulent claim that the item is fake and you just accept their word without any physical proof, and deny sellers any response because you want their suppliers supplier invoices, that will never be supplied by any business with sense.
This all seems to be about what Amazon are doing to protect themselves and not the sellers that pay to use their platform.
Give us some more relevant facts like the percentage rates of claims made by sellers in safe-t and denied/accepted by Amazon.
Rates of customer A-Z claims made by customers and denied/accepted by Amazon.
These are the stats we are interested in !!
Seller_wGk2Bz5SS9O4z
You haven't been able to stop the numerous fake seller accounts with fake VAT numbers passing your KYC. Derspite informing Amazon on numerous occasions fake seller accounts continue to sell fakes in the ink cartridge industry. No-one is taking any responsibility nor are responding to our emails. The reporting doesnt work. Can someone contact me????
Seller_RAXEWLxQ2dbmN
There are literally millions of overpriced bogus duplicate ASINs from overseas dropshippers flooding books and media.
These are 'phantom' listings rather than fakes but the end result is that buyers are being ripped off by paying over the odds for duplicate ASINs that usurp cheaper original listings from genuine UK sellers.
This has been going on for years, apparently with Amazon turning a blind eye to what is obvious chicanery.
As long as this goes on, it is hard to believe Amazon is serious about cleaning up marketplace.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
There are a TON or problems, or pieces of misinformation in this OP, but I'll leave all of that and just focus on one thing:
The first two are only associated with training bots, suggesting that Amazon are leaning even further into having automation handle everything, despite every problem in the catalogue being caused by or being made worse by the total and complete failure of bots to perform the functions of people, at this stage.
This is extremely worrying. The technology is not there to do what it's being used for at present.
As for 'expert investigators', that is oh so very vague a term, and explains nothing about these people, their roles, or their qualifications. It is in fact so vague that I don't believe for a second it actually refers to anyone at all.
