Amazon Wages War On Scam Sellers By Blocking Over 4 Billion Counterfeit Listings In 2021
![Amazon brand protection logo](https://images.hothardware.com/contentimages/newsitem/58781/content/Amazon_Brand_Protection_Hero.jpg)
Amazon additionally claims 3 million counterfeit items were seized and disposed of and 2.5 million bad actors were prevented from creating accounts in 2021. It also filed civil litigation against more than 170 counterfeiters in the United States and sued or referred more than 600 criminals for investigation in the United States and various other countries. The company spent over $900 million USD and employed more than 12,000 people to prevent counterfeits and protect customers.
Amazon’s criminal referrals were up by 300% from 2020, but its other numbers were actually lower than previous years. The company claims that “robust seller and product vetting, along with efforts to hold bad actors accountable” are discouraging counterfeiters from selling on Amazon in the first place. These efforts include programs such as the Brand Registry, which provides various tools to legitimate buyers. It is unclear whether Amazon’s efforts have actually been effective or whether there are other things going on that would deter counterfeiters.
![amazon brand package](https://images.hothardware.com/contentimages/newsitem/58781/content/amazon-brand-package.jpg)
The SHOP SAFE Act “aims to combat the sale of unsafe counterfeit products by incentivizing platforms to engage in best practices for screening and vetting sellers and products, addressing repeat counterfeiter sellers, and ensuring that consumers have relevant information available to them when they make their online purchases.” Some argue that while the intent of the proposed bill is good, the actual implementation may potentially have detrimental affects on small businesses. Amazon states it will work alongside the US Congress to prevent counterfeits.
Update 6/9/2022 at 10:30am