Tips to Stop Brand Abuse

August 23, 2022

The first couple of decades of the 21st century saw a new phenomenon: the rise of the digital world. E-commerce, social media, smartphones, and remote work ushered in new ways of conducting business, entertaining ourselves and connecting with others. Along with this rise in E-commerce also came the rise of online brand abuse. This was perpetrated by bad actors that exploit these new avenues and the vulnerability of online brands to make a quick buck. 

Unlike the scammers of yesteryears, the modern-day sophisticated bad actors use mobile apps, websites, and social media profiles as components in complex scamming networks. These highly organized bad actors are the ones causing the most harm to brands and their consumers. They target unsuspecting consumers, often infringing on popular brands to profit. With online sales continuing to rise it’s time to enact a plan to protect your customers and brand equity.  

Tips to save yourself from a brand abuse emergency 

1. Investigate bad actor networks

As mentioned above, most scammers are operating across multiple channels. It isn’t enough to only be monitoring social media or domain spoofing. Total protection comes from having a complete view of an abuse network, which is now possible with modern brand protection technology.

2. Develop a mitigation strategy against online brand abuse

Work cross-functionally with your company’s product, commercial, and marketing organizations to understand your customers’ digital journey. Aggressively monitor those digital channels for abuse targeting your customers. Ensure there is a direct line of communication with your security and litigations teams and create a process for addressing red flags.

3. Dismantle the network of brand abuse

From requesting hosting providers block a specific site to filing administrative actions like the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) to initiating civil litigation, enforcement against brand abuse can seem daunting. Find a brand protection solution that offers bulk takedown submissions tied to multi-channel coverage to save time and money.

4. Educate your customers about bad actors’ methods and how to avoid engaging with them

Be proactive in reaching out to your consumers ahead of Singles Day to warn them of common signs of fraud. Communication could include tips to avoid phishing scams or sharing a list of authorized sellers to discourage the accidental purchase of counterfeit goods or parallel imports.

Strengthening your brand against brand abuse  

Our modern digital world has created a complex market for intellectual property misuse to run rampant, and it’s hard to keep up with the latest risks. There are many solutions in the open market that claim to help prevent your brand from being exploited. Here are some of the factors that you need to consider when choosing the right brand protection solution for your brand:  

  • The level of sophistication of the solution’s detection and correlation capabilities. 
  • Meaningful results without a lot of noise. 
  • Strategic and business-minded problem-solving. 
  • Understanding your brand’s unique business problems and directives. 

With increased reliance on digital channels and the flood of new users leveraging those channels, brands play a significant role in protecting consumers. Use the data in promotional channels to help identify the full scope of brand abuse targeting your loyal customers ahead of big shopping holidays. Bad actors are using social media, advertising, websites, and branded materials to make them seem legitimate while evading detection. Legacy enforcement techniques against these scams may slow the fraudster but seldom disable the scam for any sustained period. 

Get the full guide to trends in brand abuse 

Here’s a guide about recent trends in brand abuse, from rogue mobile activity to the pandemic fueling counterfeit trade. There’s also detailed information about the advanced tools available for fighting increasingly sophisticated abuse, including a list of questions to diagnose your risk level. 

Trends in Brand Abuse 2022 Guide

Learn about recent trends in how trusted brands are abused, from rogue mobile activity to how the pandemic is fueling counterfeit trade. Plus, get detailed information about the advanced tools available for fighting increasingly sophisticated abuse, including a checklist of questions to diagnose your risk level.

Need to protect your brand across the modern digital universe?

Learn how we use advanced machine learning to link visible and non-visible digital markers, uncovering entire abuse networks and accelerating the review, triage, and prioritization of brand abuse.

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