Original title: Many anti-counterfeiting codes themselves are "Li Ghost" (theme)
Some small workshops print casually, and some are also equipped with anti-counterfeiting query websites (subtopic)
The anti-counterfeiting mark is a "touchstone" to identify the authenticity of the goods, but now it is difficult to ensure its authenticity. In recent years, a number of cases of manufacturing and selling counterfeit goods through counterfeit anti-counterfeiting marks have been seized across the country.
Where does the anti-counterfeiting label with such a high degree of fidelity come from? How did the anti-counterfeiting code become the "talisman" of fakes? What changes will be made in the future development form of anti-counterfeiting technology?
Anti-counterfeiting codes can also be faked! The police have cracked a number of cases
After more than 6 months and 19 cities, counties and districts in 4 provinces, the Public Security Bureau of Cheng County, Longnan City, Gansu Province cracked a case of illegal manufacturing of registered trademark logos, arrested 10 criminal suspects led by Huo Mouwei, and seized more than 760,000 pieces of packaging materials with counterfeit and forged "Hongchuan Liquor" trademark logos, recovering more than 100 million yuan of losses for the enterprise. On March 20 this year, the Gansu police disclosed the details of the case.
According to the person in charge of a technology company in Guangzhou, in June 2022, someone entrusted the company to develop a set of traceability and anti-counterfeiting and red envelope marketing system in the name of Gansu Hongchuan Liquor. Subsequently, they made 320,000 traceability QR code electronic data and 320,000 red envelope QR code electronic data for each other.
"As long as the other party recharges the red envelope payment account of the system, then scan these QR codes provided by our company to realize the anti-counterfeiting verification and WeChat red envelope function. The head of the technology company said.
The investigation of the task force found that the suspect recharged the system account for 65,665 yuan many times, and scanned the code of red envelopes a total of 9,228 times, totaling 64,9573 yuan. These 9,228 red envelopes were scanned, and it is suspected that 9,228 bottles of counterfeit Hongchuan wine have been sold, worth millions of yuan. After investigation, Huo Mouwei confessed the facts of the crime of counterfeiting the staff of "Hongchuan Liquor" to produce and sell anti-counterfeiting QR codes, and conspiring with others to produce and sell fake wine.
Similarly, in February last year, the Baokang police in Xiangyang, Hubei Province cracked a huge case of making and selling fake wine, involving an amount of more than 2,000 yuan. The gang has a clear division of labor, and there are special personnel responsible for cleaning wine bottles, blending, coding, labeling, etc., and even have certificates, anti-counterfeiting codes, wine detectors, etc., which are difficult for ordinary consumers to identify with the naked eye.
In May 2020, the Shenzhen Longgang police also smashed a criminal gang suspected of selling counterfeit goods. In order to confuse the real with the fake, the gang led by Li has put a lot of effort into the anti-counterfeiting code.
Mr. Li, the head of a technology company, rented a website server and built a fake website in order to attach a fake verified web page. After that, he purchased a large number of Sanwu mobile phone leather cases from a small street shop, and after refurbishment and processing, the QR code containing anti-counterfeiting strings and false verification webpages was printed on the product, and the Sanwu product became a "well-known brand", and the price doubled instantly.
In addition to the cases repeatedly cracked by the police, on the "Black Cat Complaint" platform, you can see thousands of complaints by searching for "fake anti-counterfeiting code" as a keyword. Many consumers reported that when they scanned the anti-counterfeiting code on the box, the product prompted that the product was genuine, but they contacted the official from other channels for inquiries, but they were "cracked down" or advised to buy cautiously.
The production and sale of anti-counterfeiting logos has become a gray industrial chain
The principle of anti-counterfeiting QR codes looks very simple: each product generates a unique code, and if the anti-counterfeiting code that consumers inquire about does not exist, it may be a fake.
However, the reality of anti-counterfeiting is far more complex than the theory. The Guigang police in Guangxi Province once cracked a large case of manufacturing and selling counterfeit "Haifeisi" shampoo, with a value of more than 120 million yuan.
The caps of these fake shampoos are affixed with a circular anti-counterfeiting logo, which reads the anti-counterfeiting inquiry website and inquiry telephone, as well as a set of 14-digit serial number verification codes, which are almost exactly the same as the original products.
According to the case-handling personnel, the design, production, and construction of anti-counterfeiting codes and query systems have already formed a mature gray industrial chain. In some local towns and villages, some small workshops without any qualifications can start to produce anti-counterfeiting logos by relying on only a few simple machines, and all kinds of counterfeit brand-name anti-counterfeiting logos can be printed casually, or even "on catties and trades".
In some platform channels, with "anti-counterfeiting code" and other words search, soon can pop up all kinds of services of the business, in the advertising of these businesses, mostly to "one thing, one code", "traceability and source checking" and so on as the highlight, with a very low price as a gimmick, but also free use of anti-counterfeiting query website and "400" telephone.
Some merchants said that in addition to the two-dimensional code anti-counterfeiting logo, it also provides a variety of popular anti-counterfeiting technical services in the market, such as "laser anti-counterfeiting", "temperature change fire anti-counterfeiting", "drip disappearing anti-counterfeiting", "fluorescent anti-counterfeiting", and provides telephone, WeChat, Internet, QR code and other query methods.
The price of anti-counterfeiting labels depends on the difficulty of anti-counterfeiting technology, ranging from 70 yuan to 350 yuan per 10,000 pieces, and the unit price of the cheapest anti-counterfeiting labels is less than 1 cent.
After these casually printed anti-counterfeiting codes are pasted on the packaging box, why can consumers check that they are "genuine"?
According to people familiar with the matter, this is "prepared" in the production process, and the factory will use computer programs to randomly generate two-dimensional codes and numeric codes, and these data have been uploaded to the background of the query system when producing anti-counterfeiting codes.
Some "national prefix" query websites are also unreliable
According to incomplete statistics from the China Anti-Counterfeiting Industry Association, there are only a few hundred anti-counterfeiting product production licenses issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, while in fact, there are more than 50,000 enterprises engaged in anti-counterfeiting printing business across the country.
The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Product Anti-counterfeiting (2022 Edition) stipulates that manufacturers of anti-counterfeiting technology products must check the relevant supporting materials provided by the entrusting party, including business licenses, identification materials, product inspection reports, etc., when undertaking the production tasks of anti-counterfeiting technology products.
However, due to the uneven production enterprises of anti-counterfeiting logos, especially the existence of a large number of small workshops in the blind spot of supervision, many companies are competing to reduce prices, give up the bottom line such as audit qualifications, and print at will according to customer needs.
Liu Meimei, head of the anti-counterfeiting technology branch of the China Security Products Industry Association, introduced, "There are various counterfeiting methods on the market, which anti-counterfeiting labels are used on genuine goods, and the corresponding counterfeit products will soon appear, and even fake a full set of self-made anti-counterfeiting query websites." Liu Meimei introduced that those fake query systems will even use the prefix "country" logo on relevant pages, and some query website pages are written with words such as "anti-counterfeiting and support" and "brand credibility", which is particularly bluffing.
Experts remind that even if they are named "China" and "National", many of them are operated and managed by commercial companies, and do not have reliable and authoritative qualifications. In fact, many genuine products of well-known brands will not use these "national prefixes" anti-counterfeiting systems, but through the company's official account, small programs, websites and other channels, so that consumers can inquire and compare.
The two-dimensional code has no anti-counterfeiting effect, and anti-counterfeiting also needs to be strengthened
The chaos in the production of anti-counterfeiting marks has exposed the weak supervision and insufficient legal constraints of the industry.
An anti-counterfeiting company technician introduced, at present, laser anti-counterfeiting logo and two-dimensional code anti-counterfeiting logo, mainly the independent anti-counterfeiting behavior of enterprises, anti-counterfeiting logo belongs to the "self-production, self-sales, self-identification" production service chain, the relevant departments do not carry out unified supervision of anti-counterfeiting identification.
The technician said that the QR code itself has no anti-counterfeiting effect, but is only a symbol to record information, and it is used to record the link address, however, many anti-counterfeiting companies and salesmen induce consumers to say that this thing has an anti-counterfeiting effect. "There is no necessary connection between the authenticity of the product and the result of the inquiry, and consumers must not simply think that by scanning the barcode or QR code, they can distinguish the authenticity of the product. ”
A staff member of the Inner Mongolia Quality Supervision Bureau also said that the quality supervision department mainly supervises products through 3C certification and production licenses, and will not supervise through anti-counterfeiting labels.
In view of the chaos of anti-counterfeiting label production, relevant people suggested that the anti-counterfeiting industry should strictly implement the access system and carry out "closed-loop supervision" of enterprises from the source. Manufacturers of various commodities should also continuously improve anti-counterfeiting technology to increase the difficulty and cost of counterfeiting. At the same time, law enforcement authorities should intensify their crackdown on counterfeiters based on clues reported by consumers or manufacturers.
Source: Qilu Evening News