A business’s branding placement is a significant contributor to its success as a company. Consider how tech giants Apple and Samsung remain reliable providers for mobile phones in recent years. Their strong branding presence makes them a household name synonymous with iPhone and Android phones. However, being in the limelight can also be a risk to business owners. Selling counterfeit products is one way to capitalise on another brand’s success, which is why it’s vital to stand your ground against threats to your brand’s authenticity.
Watching out for brand abuse
Brand protection is necessary to protect your Intellectual property (IP) and associated brands against potential threats that can steal your IP in various ways. Although these aren’t direct attacks on your IT infrastructures, you can develop a negative following if you don’t reinforce your stand against counterfeiters, infringers, and copyright pirates who are taking advantage of your trademarks and designs.
In this article, we’ll share three forms of brand abuse that you should protect your business’s IP from.
1. Counterfeiting
Counterfeiting is the process of imitating a product from a well-known brand, usually through lower-quality materials. A retailer will utilise similar branding and packaging forms to promote the product, such as stealing authentic photographs to legitimise their product listings. These sellers can go the extra mile by using similar packaging to hide their products’ true nature.
2. Phishing scams
Since most business transactions are going digital, cybercriminals see it as an opportunity to execute phishing scams. Phishing is a cybercrime that attempts to steal a person’s or company’s private information, from login details to banking passwords. Cybercriminals use various ways to obtain this personal info, from setting up rogue websites to launching fake email campaigns.
Rogue websites simulate a legitimate company’s official website but differ in subtle details to trick its customers. It can differ through slight alterations in the domain name or an outdated interface. A typical modus cybercriminals do is call for password protection from registered customers. An email will alert a person of a security breach in the company, which will require them to input their account information for security purposes. Besides tricking people into inputting their private information, phishing scammers utilise complex malware that infiltrates their devices they unintentionally download files or open links.
3. Social media impersonation
Brands are now more active on social media ever since the unintentional yet viral boom that Wendy’s tweets hit record highs of brand engagement back in 2018. For this reason, maintaining a social media presence became more fun and interesting. However, businesses still need to operate their social media profiles for official purposes. This includes coordinating with customer concerns online or promoting official marketing campaigns or company advisories.
Some people can easily impersonate a brand’s official account if customers aren’t too vigilant in identifying pretenders. Third parties can use your brand’s image to sell counterfeits of your product or instigate phishing scams with your brand name. This is why it’s necessary to shut down unofficial accounts that can negatively affect your online credibility.
In today’s digital age, when anyone can be anyone, it’s important to be mindful of who you’re dealing with. Impersonators and counterfeiters benefit from the negligence of brands in protecting their IP, which is why you need to reinforce your brand’s protection to secure your brand’s and customers’ safety.
Securing your brand’s protection is about reinforcing your identity and authenticity as a service provider. FraudWatch International is a brand protection company that can protect your brand and its IP from fraudulent cybercriminals. Contact our cyber intelligence analysts, and we’ll keep your brand safe from different cyber threats.