Fakes, Fraud and Scams Await Amazon Consumers

Buyers deceived, jobs destroyed by Amazon counterfeit, fake and replica products.

August 22, 2018, Los Angeles, CA – Amazon has a big counterfeit and credibility problem. In addition to Amazon being a direct retailer of counterfeit goods; "ships from and sold by Amazon.com," about 50% of Amazon's sales are from 2-million third-party "Marketplace" sellers that are allowed to sell just about anything they want, including an inexhaustible supply of counterfeit, fake and replica books and merchandise.

Amazon would like consumers to believe that it provides an honest and safe place to buy name-brand goods - and only authentic name brand goods - but that's not true. Amazon enables and facilitates an enormous number of counterfeit product sales while skirting secondary liability for the sales.

Amazon reports that over 60,000 brands have signed in to fight counterfeits on Amazon -- a shocking revelation of the enormity of Amazon's counterfeit problem.

Apple® reported that 90% of Apple products it purchased directly from Amazon were counterfeit, while Birkenstock, the global footwear icon, slammed Amazon as "an accomplice" of the fraudsters. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) placed orders with Amazon and found that 44 of the 194 top CD's delivered were counterfeit. Swiss watch company Swatch (Longines, Omega and Blancpain) scrapped selling on Amazon when Amazon refused to "proactively police its site for counterfeits and unauthorized retailers." Forbes recently deemed the e-commerce giant a "cesspool of counterfeits and other illegal and potentially dangerous goods."

Amazon still takes a transaction fee for each counterfeit item sold, and while collecting half of every U.S. retail dollar spent online, Amazon won't pay any federal income taxes after topping $5.6 billion in income in 2017.

Amazon's shady practices have not escaped the attention of federal investigators. The U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") recently conducted an undercover investigation of e-commerce counterfeit goods sales. The GAO reported that about 50% of the items it purchased from e-commerce websites, including Amazon (AMZN), were counterfeit.

Amazon's published Anti-Counterfeiting Policy is simply not true;

Myth -- Amazon; "We encourage rights owners who have product authenticity concerns to notify us. We will promptly investigate and take all appropriate actions to protect customers, sellers, and rights holders."

Fact -- The Counterfeit Report, an award winning consumer advocate and counterfeit watchdog, submitted infringement notices for over 39,000 counterfeit items, authorized by the trademark holders, to Amazon's 13 global websites. Four of Amazon's counterfeit notification mailboxes were undeliverable destinations. Some counterfeit listings remained for weeks, even months despite hundreds of repeat notices. Manufacturers simply don't have the time or resources to struggle with Amazon's dysfunctional system.

Myth -- Amazon; "Products offered for sale on Amazon must be authentic. The sale of counterfeit products is strictly prohibited."

Fact -- Inexplicably, while Amazon may remove a counterfeit product from its U.S. website (Amazon.com), Amazon allows the same sellers to remain, sell and ship the same products to the USA from its other global websites (e.g. Amazon.co.uk. Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, etc.). Amazon utilizes a crafty excuse to avoid removing the counterfeit listings claiming "Your trademark must be in registered status in [each country the item is sold in]," ignoring their own counterfeit policy, and the fact that many fakes are shipped from China. Products include items that do not exist in the authentic manufacturer's product line but bear their registered trademark, and even inarguable counterfeit police badges and ID. The foreign sellers are difficult to identify and escape liability.

Myth -- Amazon; "Don't post content that encourages or supports behavior that is illegal, including violence, fraud,...(fraudulent goods, services, schemes, or promotions)"

Fact -- Search results and product reviews are no indication of authenticity or quality, and may not even be related to the product searched. Worldwide scammers work to outsmart and trick Amazon's automated ranking systems with fake reviews and ratings, while some sellers pay off workers inside Amazon to gain competitive information reports the Wall Street Journal.

Myth -- Amazon; "We stand behind the products sold on our site with our A-to-z Guarantee."

Fact -- That could be true, but only if consumers were informed by Amazon (or knew) they received a counterfeit product. However, Amazon does not notify consumers they received a fake, even after being notified by the right holders.

The consequence is destroyed U.S. companies and retailers, lost U.S. jobs and duped consumers spending good money for bad products. The value of counterfeit and pirated goods is forecast to grow to $2.8 trillion, and cost 5.4 million net job losses by 2022 states a 2017 International Chamber of Commerce Report.

Counterfeiting is more than purses, watches and sunglasses. Would consumers suspect these counterfeit products offered on Amazon?

(Photo: The Counterfeit Report® - left to right)

1. U.S. based Fullips, LLC is a family owned business producing very popular beauty and cosmetic products under the registered Fullips® trademark. Unscrupulous counterfeiters will produce anything to deceive consumers and make a fast dollar, including the counterfeit Fullips product shown. Almost visually indistinguishable from the authentic product, consumers are easily deceived into purchasing a poor quality counterfeit that may contain dangerous lead and other suspect ingredients.
2. Federal, State and local laws regulate the sale, purchase, possession and display of counterfeit badges, as of course does common sense. Replica current issue U.S. Secret Service, FBI and police badges are available on Amazon to terrorists, child predators and other criminals. 2,566 counterfeits were found on Amazon and some repeatedly purchased by The Counterfeit Report, yet notices to Amazon management for of the alarming practice have been ignored. The items remain.
3. Vans® does not make iPhone 6, 7 or 8 cases – but they are common on Amazon. Counterfeit product sales support terrorists, organized crime and other criminals.
4. Tiny microSD® computer memory cards are used in cell phones, cameras and laptops. Authentic microSD cards bear the microSD trademark which is owned by SD-3C, LLC, who licenses its use to authentic, conforming products. Memory on counterfeit cards is usually not the capacity of what is printed on the card, and the fake items may fail. When that happens, you are likely to lose your data, images, and damage your equipment. These fake items from Amazon do not exist in any authentic product line and are not licensed by SD-3C, LLC.
5. Counterfeit Apple® USB Adapters have caused two deaths, fires, injuries and equipment damage but are common on Amazon. Apple recently reported that 90% of Apple Chargers it purchased directly from Amazon were fake.
6. Unscrupulous counterfeiters even target books. This deceptive counterfeit Moms on Call book (Fulfilled by Amazon) is almost indistinguishable from the authentic book, but lacks the quality and sold for twice the price of the authentic edition also offered on Amazon for $19.95.
7. Composite Resources Combat Application Tourniquet® (C-A-T®) has been supplied to the U.S. Military, police, first responders, and the public worldwide for the past decade. Counterfeit versions of the C-A-T tourniquet have catastrophically failed during actual life-saving applications. The Counterfeit Report reported 6,121 infringing items to Amazon, yet infringing items continue to be listed as well as non-FDA registered knockoffs of the critical medical device.
8. Drew Technologies' Mongoose® Pro interface cable is used by vehicle technicians and dealers to program vehicle computers including braking, emission and safety equipment. Counterfeit Mongoose products may severely damage your vehicle, and install malware on your computer. The authentic product is not made in purple - an obvious fake.
9. Consumers wouldn't suspect AutoMeter's popular Sport Comp-II tachometer would be counterfeited, but it is. A sluggish or inaccurate tachometer may result in damage, or complete destruction of your vehicle's engine. This poor quality fake was purchased by The Counterfeit Report on Amazon for just a fraction of the authentic items price – an immediate identifier of a fake.
10. CREE®, a global manufacturer of lighting products, does not make flashlights. However this counterfeit, and many other fake CREE branded flashlight models are sold on Amazon.