Holding Bad Actors Accountable
In partnership with brands and law enforcement, we have been able to hold more bad actors accountable through civil litigation and criminal referrals to law enforcement organizations—working to stop them from abusing our and other retailers’ stores across the industry in the future. Our efforts to identify and help dismantle counterfeit organizations, fake reviews brokers, and other fraudsters are still early but are working.
We pursue scammers using a team of former federal prosecutors, experienced investigators, and data analysts. Leveraging innovative tools and technology alongside expert investigators, scammers are quickly identified, referred to law enforcement, and deterred from continuing their schemes.
Amazon acknowledges and respects the hard work of law enforcement and prosecutors around the world in the fight against bad actors. We are proud of our partnerships with agencies that help us combat these criminals and will continue to share information regarding confirmed counterfeiters blocked from selling in our store. But we don’t do this on our own. Amazon partners with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on marketing campaigns to help educate consumers about how to shop safely. We work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to mutually exchange information to help stop counterfeiters. In the EU, we regularly collaborate with Europol, Guardia Civil in Spain, Guardia Di Finanza in Italy, and Germany’s regional police services, as well as French, and Belgian, and German and Czech Customs agencies. In 2023, Amazon worked with the City of London’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) to identify and stop a large criminal operation attempting to distribute thousands of counterfeit toothbrush heads.
Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) is a global team that includes former federal prosecutors, FBI agents, expert investigators, and data analysts. CCU, customs agencies, and law enforcement share information to track down counterfeiters, shut down bad actor accounts, seize counterfeit inventory, and prosecute those involved. CCU has disrupted counterfeiters and their networks through civil suits, joint enforcement actions, and seizures with law enforcement worldwide, including against suppliers, logistics providers, fake invoice providers, and more.
Watch: Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) works with brands, customs agencies, and law enforcement to track down counterfeiters, shut down bad actors’ accounts, seize counterfeit inventory, and prosecute those involved.
We aggressively fight fake review brokers and will continue to take legal action to permanently shut down the fraudsters responsible for facilitating such reviews. Our legal actions globally are starting to drive results as we have shut down some of the largest global brokers. By taking such action, Amazon targets the source of the problem, ensuring that our reviews remain a trustworthy, insightful resource for customers.
