Digital Crimestoppers

Salzburg, June 5th, 2019

Your company’s brand will not fit in a getaway van, but it can certainly be stolen in broad daylight. Your hard-earned reputation will not fit in a satchel hidden beneath the floorboards of a criminal’s shack, but it can be whisked away without you knowing it, by anyone from anywhere.

Global counterfeiting was a $1.2 trillion dollar industry in 2017, according to the Global Brand Counterfeiting Report.

Counterfeit goods threaten the integrity of every brand, no matter the product line. It’s not just memorabilia, collectibles and high-end luxury goods like watches and handbags. Counterfeiting can be subtle yet more dangerous when it targets consumer products like infant formula, tea, and nutraceuticals, toys, and even motor oil and electric cables.

Technology trends such as online anonymity play to the counterfeiters’ advantage. So does information overload. Authenticity filters or tools like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) sticker help but they’re not pervasive across every market or product line.

How does your customer know for certain that they have purchased or are holding the genuine article?

In some ways, the Convenience Economy is working against us. With the 24/7 nature of mobile e-commerce, crime never takes a holiday, or the weekend off. The vulnerability of digital networks is a constant, something IT professionals know all about.

According to Cyber Defense Magazine:

• 43% of all cyber-attacks are aimed at small businesses
• Cybercriminals exploited the credit cards of 48% of Americans.
• It can take up to half a year to detect a data breach.

At stake is not only the loss of income and brand erosion. It’s the lack of trust in the entire supply chain, right down to the shopping basket, the entry of credit card information online and the arrival of the item in a delivery truck.

It’s time to fight back with software. Flush out the fakes in real-time. And not just for individual items. Anticipate where fraud is most likely to surface in “gray market” channels of distribution and counterfeit points of sale.

Here’s the three-part platform for authentication. Companies like Authentic Vision have developed simple and easy to use crime-stopping solutions:

• Secure products with a unique Holographic Fingerprint™. A unique Holographic Fingerprint™ like the one from Authentic Vision is applied to the product during the packaging phase, including random serialization of a data matrix code.
• Smartphone Scanning. Automated smartphone authentication reads the Holographic Fingerprint™ in real-time. Any smartphone can be used to authenticate. The reader app requires no previous knowledge or special equipment. A simple scan connects you directly with your customer while enabling the verification of the product’s authenticity.
• Global Monitoring Monitor every single product on a web platform. Mapping technology enables you to trace every item around the globe. Instant fraud alerts are issued in real-time, or review “gray market” analytics to make sure your goods reach their target market.

Product mapping is the key to stopping digital counterfeiters. Helping your customers select the genuine article is important as pricing, packaging and customer care. Instant authenticity is another key touchpoint that earns loyalty.