Police in India’s capital city of Delhi have cracked down on a sophisticated counterfeit smartphone operation, which was caught selling fake Samsung Galaxy smartphones. The local law enforcement has made arrests and even confiscated hundreds of these counterfeit Galaxy phones, so here’s everything you need to know.

Police Shut Down Fake Samsung Galaxy Phone Racket, Over 500 Counterfeits Seized

The Delhi Police recently dismantled an illegal phone assembly and sales operation that was passing off counterfeit Samsung Galaxy devices as genuine products. The raid was carried out in the Karol Bagh neighborhood, which led to the arrest of four suspects and seizure of more than 512 fake Galaxy smartphones along with a cache of electronic components and tools used in the scheme.

As per official police reports, the group was sourcing various parts like motherboards, cameras, batteries, and frames from abroad, primarily from suppliers in China. These components were then assembled together with salvaged or generic components to build phones that resemble Samsung’s premium smartphones, like the Galaxy S Ultra lineup, and even the Galaxy Fold and Flip series.

To make the units appear authentic, investigators found hundreds of fake IMEI stickers marked “Made in Vietnam”, a tactic intended to mislead buyers and evade network checks. While most of these devices cost over 1,200 US Dollars in the Indian market, the illegal business was selling these fake Samsung phones for around 450 US Dollars (around Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000). So unsuspecting buyers were lured into what appeared to be attractive deals that were too good to be true. The police are currently investigating to uncover the deeper network for such a business, like its supply chain.

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The post How a Fake Samsung Galaxy Phone Operation Was Exposed in a Major Police Raid in India appeared first on Gizmochina.

Counterfeit products have detrimental effects on consumers in various ways. They pose significant risks to consumer health and safety as counterfeit goods often fail to meet quality and safety standards. From counterfeit medications with ineffective or harmful ingredients to counterfeit electronics prone to malfunctioning, consumers are exposed to potential dangers. Consumers also suffer financial losses when purchasing counterfeit items, as they are deceived into paying for substandard or fraudulent products. Furthermore, counterfeit goods undermine trust in legitimate brands and businesses, creating a negative impact on the economy. However, in the future, it may be easier for users to spot counterfeit or fake goods, all thanks to a mobile optical AI solution.

FeaturePrint relies on AI to identify distinct features of a product

FeaturePrint is an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) powered optical AI solution developed by Alitheon that claims to be able to detect counterfeits with just a single photo. The implications of unwittingly selling a fake piece of art are severe, potentially irreparably damaging an auction house’s reputation. Shockingly, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that the underground art market, including thefts, fakes, and illegal imports, could generate up to a staggering $6 billion annually. FeaturePrint can be a one-stop solution to the same.

With FeaturePrint, Alitheon offers a straightforward and effective solution to combat the counterfeit problem. By capturing a single photo using an iPhone, this optical AI solution can analyze and convert the intricate surface details of a physical item into a unique mathematical identity. Alitheon emphasizes that this identification process isn’t based on an image but rather a set of numbers that characterize the distinct features of an object. By preserving only the information that makes an item truly unique, FeaturePrint can effortlessly discern genuine products from counterfeits.

Unlike traditional identification systems that rely on stickers, barcodes, QR codes, or RFID tags, FeaturePrint’s machine vision and optical AI algorithms eliminate the need for these proxies. Alitheon’s approach ensures that the object itself becomes its own identifier, rendering it impossible to obscure, detach, or counterfeit. By removing the reliance on external identification proxies, FeaturePrint tackles the inherent weaknesses and vulnerabilities of conventional systems.

While FeaturePrint cannot definitively determine if a product is counterfeit, it serves as a reliable tool to confirm the authenticity of registered items. Although not available through smartphone app stores, Alitheon provides FeaturePrint as a business-to-business solution, directly assisting customers. Alitheon has been recognized by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the world’s leading independent standards authority for the global precious metals industry, as one of only five companies to support LBMA’s Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) initiative. As the precious metals markets face increasingly pervasive human rights, environmental and economic threats, the aim of the GBI Initiative is to combat illicit trade and reduce the entrance of fraudulent bars into the global gold supply chain. 

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(Via)

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Knockoffs are a huge problem plaguing online marketplaces like Amazon and to tackle such issues, the online retail giant had created a Counterfeit Crimes Unit in June last year. Now, the unit seems to have taken its first action.

Amazon and GoPro have sued seven Chinese nationals and a couple of businesses for distributing hard-to-detect knockoffs of its “Handler” floating camera handgrip and “3-way” tripod grip that uses GoPro’s own logo.

The lawsuit was filed in April this year and has just been unsealed because a parallel investigation against the same sellers is ongoing in China. The lawsuit claims that some of the buyers were fooled by the fake products but it doesn’t reveal the number of people who actually bought these fake products.

As for taking action, Amazon says that it blocked the seller accounts of these defendants after counterfeits were brought to the company’s attention. The company also added that it sent samples of the products to GoPro to help the investigation.

Kebharu Smith, Director of Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit said, “When counterfeiters attempt to sell in our store, they not only violate the intellectual property rights of companies like GoPro, they also mislead consumers and harm Amazon’s reputation as a place to buy authentic goods.”

Amazon contends that the problem of counterfeit products on its platform isn’t widespread. It says that in 2020, less than 0.01 percent of all products sold on its marketplace were the subject of a counterfeit complaint from customers. But Amazon doesn’t reveal how many products it has on its storefront, so it’s impossible to tell how large “0.01%” might be.

The company is talking about counterfeit complaints filed by the customers so the number of such products on the platform could be much more given that not everyone can tell apart the fake goods and not everyone who finds out decides to complain about it.

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The post Amazon and GoPro file lawsuit against Chinese sellers over counterfeit products appeared first on Gizmochina.

Earlier today (23rd November 2020), Xiaomi announced that it had seized counterfeit products in the Southern states of the country. As per estimates, these fakes were worth over 33 lakhs INR (or 3,300,000 INR and roughly 45,000 US Dollars).

As per an official press note, the Chinese tech giant revealed that the counterfeit goods were seized from four suppliers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Bangalore, Karnataka. The company made these discoveries through its comprehensive proactive anti-counterfeit program. At the moment, a complaint has been filed against the local police station, with raids being conducted in the market in the months of October and November.

According to the registered complaint, police officers accompanies with the company’s representatives seized counterfeit products from three prominent shops in the region. The group discovered over 3000 products, which consisted of mobile covers, headphones, power banks, chargers, and earphones. Notably, shop owners from both the cities were arrested for allegedly selling fake Mi India products worth over 24.9 lakhs (roughly 33,600 US Dollars) and 8.4 lakhs INR (roughly 11,300 US Dollars) respectively.

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Additionally, interrogations have revealed that both parties have been managing this business for a long time and have sold numerous unauthorized products in the market. So, you can check out a few pointers given below that could hint at the authenticity of your Xiaomi products:

• Some products like carry security codes that can be checked on mi.com to identify the authenticity of the product- eg. Mi Powerbanks, all audio products.
• Packaging and quality of retail boxes are very different. You can visit any Mi Home/ Mi Store to validate the original packaging
• Check for the original Mi India Logo on the product and you will know if that is authorized. Original logo of packaging can be seen on mi.com
• All authorized fitness products such as Mi Band(s) will have Mi Fit app compatibility.
• Unauthorized cables are often flimsy and break easily

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