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Are you fully protecting your brand from online threats that constantly pose new challenges and require different responses? As more functions are dragged online, real-world brand protection strategies must resolve conflicting objectives and responsibilities. In this issue, we’ll examine how a joined-up approach works to tackle overlapping threats like counterfeit selling, imitation, and cyber fraud.

You will learn how a 93-year-old brand foiled an imposter’s attempt to trademark counterfeit products. This tricky case involved a complex counterfeit network, stringent requirements for challenging a trademark, and significant repercussions if the challenge failed.

This case is one example where the right technology was an essential element in the brand owner’s arsenal. Read on to learn about two unique technologies you can utilize to uncover high value targets and flag threats early. Spoiler alert: One uses common account characteristics so you can discover potential infringers while the other finds suspicious domains that indicate impending fraud.

The International Trademark Association and International Chamber of Commerce put the value of counterfeiting at almost

$1 trillion in 2022

Hear Stef Wood, Director of Product Management, share her thoughts on how real-world brand protection strategies can cover a wide range of threats, from impersonation of products and brands to misuse of intellectual property and outright fraud.

>98%

enforcement compliance rates

In 2020, OpSec uncovered FurlaBee, a bad actor selling a counterfeit Furla handbag on an Alibaba Group platform. Being particularly thorough, this adversary had even registered FurlaBee as a trademark. This posed a particular problem. Since if the Chinese Trademark and Patent Office (CNIPA) assesses a registered design and determines it does not meet their stringent requirements, that judgement goes into the public domain – potentially incentivizing further imitation. Reluctant to expose the brand to such a risk, Furla asked OpSec to take a different approach.

We customized our platform and its monitoring tools to collect extensive evidence from websites, marketplaces, and social media channels. This proved the brand abuse by FurlaBee. The Furla team then used this information to file an invalidation action against the FurlaBee trademark and associated infringing products. In October 2021, CNIPA upheld the invalidation action and deleted the trademark. FurlaBee could no longer promote their infringing products, and Furla could protect their 93-year heritage and safeguard a globally recognized brand.

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80,000

number of phishing victims every day

Fraud is damaging and must be tackled before consumers are compromised. That’s why our Early Warning System (EWS) provides daily alerts on domain name registrations and SSL certificates could target brands or unwitting employees.

While this data is used to limit exposure to email phishing and spear phishing attacks, it also feeds our brand protection monitoring to expedite detection of brand infringements. Attacks are often signposted before a fake product or endorsement even surfaces. Suspicious hostnames and domains often indicate impending fraud but, significantly, can also expose hostnames that aim to deceive, enabling intervention before harm is done.

In fact, warnings from the EWS have proven vital in responding rapidly to threats to our clients – in some cases, allowing them to act before fraudsters can even begin attacking.

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According to a PwC study,

28 %

of counterfeit and fraud is now associated with organized criminal gangs

Sophisticated counterfeit schemes are increasingly the work of organized crime groups, who operate across multiple channels and accounts. They are organized and determined, reappearing after multiple takedowns. To tackle organized counterfeit networks, government and intelligence operations typically use undercover techniques. OpSec utilizes those same covert intelligence-led techniques.

Our platform includes a Network Intelligence feature to collect shared datapoints on these actors. This highlights common account characteristics and threat signatures to expose hidden networks operating across multiple marketplaces and websites. It also helps surface future risks. For example, by reporting sites registered using a known email address that is associated with an infringing domain administrator.

The Network Intelligence feature uses a technique known as clustering to connect and analyze data points from multiple online channels and identify common threads between counterfeit networks and accounts. Clusters can help identify secondary and tertiary networks and establish high-value targets. By inspecting a cluster with multiple counterfeit data points, brands can discover other potential infringers.

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