AI is driving a sharp rise in fraudulent offers
Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently causing a rapid surge in counterfeiting, according to a recent report by German business daily Handelsblatt. The report notes that fraudsters are using AI to flood online platforms such as TikTok Shop, eBay, and Amazon with counterfeit goods. Using AI, they could create hundreds of thousands of perfectly realistic product photos in no time and post listings on platforms – even for products that did not exist and would never be delivered. To protect its own online marketplace, TikTok Shop, for example, has also turned to AI. In addition to its own data, it uses information from brand owners and customers to identify and reduce potential violations.
//“Between January and June 2025, we proactively rejected more than 40 million products due to intellectual property violations before they could be listed on TikTok Shop.“
Nicolas Waldmann, TikTok, speaking to the Handelsblatt
E‑commerce giant Amazon is also placing a strong focus on technology and artificial intelligence in the fight against counterfeit goods. Amazon highlights its successes in the fight against counterfeiting in a dedicated brand protection report. Using AI, Amazon aims to automatically filter out infringing products and, according to its own figures, blocked 99% of suspected infringing listings in 2024 before they could be published.
For counterfeiters and fraudsters, AI can be an excellent tool
As the Handelsblatt report points out, AI is making it easier than ever before to generate false advertising images, set up fake online stores, and even replicate complex machines. The insurance group Allianz Trade draws a clear conclusion, as reported by Handelsblatt: AI plays into the hands of economic criminals; they would act more professionally, strike more frequently, and cause greater damage.
//“It’s a game of cat and mouse: Criminals are perfecting their scams using AI, and companies are trying to keep up with their security measures.“
Marie‑Christine Kragh, Global Head of Fraud Insurance, Allianz Trade, according to Handelsblatt
AI could also leave manufacturers in the mechanical engineering sector more vulnerable to counterfeiting. According to Steffen Zimmermann, head of industrial security at the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), the industry had so far been protected from counterfeiting because it dealt with highly complex systems. However, the Handelsblatt report notes that AI models can now automatically generate design drawings from product images and list the necessary materials.
According to the study on industrial security and counterfeiting, published by the VDMA in 2024, around 46% of companies in the mechanical and plant engineering industry in Germany already experienced counterfeit products over the preceding two years. The total losses at that time were already estimated at approximately 4.1 billion euros.
Significant losses for companies anticipated
Companies may face substantial economic losses, reports Handelsblatt. Hansgrohe for instance, a manufacturer of fittings based in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, estimates that counterfeiting already accounts for five to ten percent of lost annual revenue. Now that counterfeiters are able to leverage AI, the damage is likely to increase further, as Carmen Vetter, Head of Intellectual Property at Hansgrohe, assumes.
A copy of a washbasin faucet from Hansgrohe received the Plagiarius negative award recently. In line with that, Hansgrohe also announced that the company had worked with Chinese authorities to break up a counterfeiting network in 2025. Counterfeit products with a market value of approximately 360,000 euros were seized in the operation.
EU SOCTA study highlights key challenges for Europe
The European Union’s Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) report, published in 2025, also examines the use of new technologies by counterfeiters. According to the report, the increasing use of innovative technologies such as 3D printing and AI would enable counterfeiters to produce highly accurate imitations with a low risk of human error. This would also allow them to increasingly automate the production of counterfeit goods.
The study also indicates that online marketplaces and distribution platforms, as well as social media, are used to market and distribute counterfeit goods. Social commerce, i.e., the integration of e‑commerce into social media, could further drive this development. Counterfeiting would remain a significant challenge for companies and brand protection experts in Europe, among other things also fueled by a lack of awareness of the risks posed by counterfeit goods.
