Facebook and Instagram are hotspots for fake luxury goods: Research

Facebook-owned Meta platform is struggling to stop fake luxury goods on its app. According to academics, industry groups and investigators, Meta’s platforms have emerged as hotspots for criminals dealing in counterfeit luxury goods. Benedict Hamilton, managing director of a private investigation company, says that Facebook and Instagram are the main marketplaces where counterfeit goods are sold to the public. This used to happen on eBay 10 years ago and on Amazon till five years ago. According to the research led by social media analytics firm Ghost Data, the fake brands seen on the Meta platform copy brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Prada and Chanel. This research has been shared with Reuters.

Done between June to October-2021 Study During the investigation, the firm identified more than 26,000 active accounts of fraudsters running on Facebook. More than 20,000 active accounts of fraudsters were found on Instagram. This is more than the year 2020, but less than 2019. In 2019, 56,000 such accounts were identified. The special thing is that about 65% of the fraudulent accounts found in 2021 were based in China. 14 percent such accounts were being operated from Russia and 7.5 percent from Turkey.

Ghost Data is an Italian analytics firm. It was founded by cyber security expert Andrea Stroppa. She is also a data analyst consultant for the World Economic Forum. This firm has a record of digital propaganda being spread on social media by fraudsters and supporters of Islamic State.

Online commerce is a priority for Meta. It has provided new features for shopping and increased the company’s revenue. But users selling counterfeit goods create problems for the company by using its platform. A Meta spokesperson said in a statement that the issue of counterfeit and fraudulent sales is a problem that always persists with new technology. We are getting better every day at stopping this and cracking down on fraudsters.