In order to cause maximum disruption to the distribution of fake watches, the Internet Unit is increasingly favouring strategic actions.
Revue FH - March 12th 2009
Carole Aubert
A project currently in development will carry the fight even further. With more than 71,000 auctions and small ads withdrawn from the web and around 900 formal notifications served on sites offering counterfeit watch products, the activities of the FH Internet Unit virtually doubled their efficiency in 2008 compared to 2007, thanks particularly to improvements in the methods used.
Indeed since the middle of 2008 the Internet Unit has benefited from a new database for sites which not only automates the systematic collection of data and stores evidence, but also allows automatic processing of notifications and reminders, as well as a degree of crosschecking. All information detected concerning the holder of a site - names (even fictitious), phone numbers, email addresses, pseudonyms, other means of contact such as MSN, Skype, etc – can for example be fed into the database, which generates an automatic warning if the user tries to enter a piece of information already present in the system, making it possible to automatically link information between them. Such information has already made it possible to update several large networks of sites (Russian and Chinese) operating together.
In future, the database will be supplemented with information gathered when auctions and small ads are withdrawn, thus making it possible to create and supplement seller profiles, often active on several platforms, and to start in-depth investigations into particular sellers. These developments should naturally be viewed in conjunction with the scientific project Watchmonitor, currently ongoing, which aims to develop a complete analysis system, from the automatic detection of counterfeit products online to the production of reports intended for operational and strategic activities, enabling concrete action to be taken to disrupt criminal activity.
A prototype allowing automatic detection is currently nearing completion. Results, already highly promising, will be useful in the search for private and public funds that is about to begin with a view to financing the project. From purely operational activities, the FH Internet Unit is therefore tending to carry out more strategic actions designed to cause maximum disruption to the distribution of counterfeit products. The tools developed make it possible to identify those most actively involved (particularly technical intermediaries) and to find out whom to approach in order to drive the message home. For example, contact has been made with credit card issuers, since «anonymous» online purchases go some way to explaining the mushrooming popularity of this distribution channel for counterfeit goods. In addition, the FH Internet Unit is maintaining pressure on the largest social networking sites so that concrete preventive measures can be taken proactively with a view to curbing the sale of fake products.
Carole Aubert
A project currently in development will carry the fight even further. With more than 71,000 auctions and small ads withdrawn from the web and around 900 formal notifications served on sites offering counterfeit watch products, the activities of the FH Internet Unit virtually doubled their efficiency in 2008 compared to 2007, thanks particularly to improvements in the methods used.
Indeed since the middle of 2008 the Internet Unit has benefited from a new database for sites which not only automates the systematic collection of data and stores evidence, but also allows automatic processing of notifications and reminders, as well as a degree of crosschecking. All information detected concerning the holder of a site - names (even fictitious), phone numbers, email addresses, pseudonyms, other means of contact such as MSN, Skype, etc – can for example be fed into the database, which generates an automatic warning if the user tries to enter a piece of information already present in the system, making it possible to automatically link information between them. Such information has already made it possible to update several large networks of sites (Russian and Chinese) operating together.
In future, the database will be supplemented with information gathered when auctions and small ads are withdrawn, thus making it possible to create and supplement seller profiles, often active on several platforms, and to start in-depth investigations into particular sellers. These developments should naturally be viewed in conjunction with the scientific project Watchmonitor, currently ongoing, which aims to develop a complete analysis system, from the automatic detection of counterfeit products online to the production of reports intended for operational and strategic activities, enabling concrete action to be taken to disrupt criminal activity.
A prototype allowing automatic detection is currently nearing completion. Results, already highly promising, will be useful in the search for private and public funds that is about to begin with a view to financing the project. From purely operational activities, the FH Internet Unit is therefore tending to carry out more strategic actions designed to cause maximum disruption to the distribution of counterfeit products. The tools developed make it possible to identify those most actively involved (particularly technical intermediaries) and to find out whom to approach in order to drive the message home. For example, contact has been made with credit card issuers, since «anonymous» online purchases go some way to explaining the mushrooming popularity of this distribution channel for counterfeit goods. In addition, the FH Internet Unit is maintaining pressure on the largest social networking sites so that concrete preventive measures can be taken proactively with a view to curbing the sale of fake products.
