In its first-ever Brand Protection Report, Amazon revealed that it destroyed over 2 million counterfeit products that reached its warehouses in 2020. The shopping giant also outlined the many ways it’s preventing bad actors from selling fakes online, which includes a live video and physical address verification for sellers.
Amazon Takes on the Fakes
Amazon’s Brand Protection Report outlines the company’s efforts to protect sellers on the site throughout 2020. Most notably, Amazon said that it “seized and destroyed more than 2 million products” that wound up in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Amazon also ensured that these products were “not resold elsewhere in the supply chain.”
2020 was an overall rough year for Amazon, and the pandemic only made matters worse. Despite this, Amazon took this in stride, continually working to improve its fraud detection.
“The pandemic also attracted bad actors who tried to take advantage of the situation, and despite their attempts, we continued to make strong progress driving counterfeits to zero in our store,” Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president wrote.
“In 2020, Amazon invested over $700 million and employed more than 10,000 people to protect our store from fraud and abuse. As a result, the vast majority of our customers continued to only find authentic products in our store.”
Starting in 2020, Amazon began reporting counterfeiters to law enforcement in Canada, China, the EU, UK, and the US.
Amazon Also Works to Identify and Protect Legit Sellers
Amazon wants to reduce the number of fakes that reach its warehouses to zero. One way Amazon is preventing the sale of fake items is by thoroughly vetting each seller that signs up to the site.
In 2020, Amazon started setting up video interviews and in-person chats between Amazon and potential sellers. According to Amazon, only 6 percent of new sellers passed this strict verification process and were able to list products. Amazon even verifies existing sellers by sending a unique code to their listed address.
Amazon also gives sellers their own tools to prevent counterfeit items. As of 2020, over 18,000 brands were involved in Project Zero, Amazon’s self-service tool that lets sellers remove fake versions of their items on Amazon.
Always Remain Vigilant When Shopping Online
Amazon is making some headway when it comes to tackling counterfeit items, but it’s still important to watch out for fakes when shopping on any online platform. Always make sure to use common sense, and recognize when deals seem too good to be true.