Amazon counterfeit crime unit: Behind Amazon’s fight against counterfeiters
Today we are talking about the Amazon counterfeit crime unit and what it actually takes to fight counterfeiters at scale inside one of the largest marketplaces in the world.
I sat down with Kebharu Smith, Associate General Counsel and Director of the Counterfeit Crimes Unit at Amazon, to talk about counterfeit product prevention, brand protection on Amazon, and the legal and operational strategy behind going after bad actors who abuse online marketplaces. This is one of those conversations that matters because counterfeiting is often treated like a listing problem or a policy problem, when in reality it is much bigger than that.
At first glance, counterfeit goods can look like an ecommerce trust issue. A fake product. A copied listing. A bad seller account. But when you dig in, it becomes clear that the people behind these operations are often connected to broader criminal ecosystems. That includes organized fraud, repeat seller abuse, social media promotion of counterfeit goods, and in some cases much more serious criminal activity behind the scenes.
And that matters.
Because the Amazon counterfeit crime unit is not just trying to remove bad listings faster. It is trying to build a system that combines AI for counterfeit detection, brand tools like Project Zero Amazon, legal enforcement, law enforcement partnerships for fraud, and criminal referrals for counterfeit fraud. That is a very different level of response.
This episode is really about what marketplace counterfeit enforcement looks like when a platform decides to treat counterfeiters as real criminals instead of just bad marketplace users.
What you’ll hear in this episode
- How the Amazon counterfeit crimes unit approaches counterfeit prevention from both a legal and operational perspective
- Why protecting brands on Amazon requires more than listing takedowns and reactive enforcement
- How tools like Project Zero and Brand Registry fit into Amazon’s broader anti-counterfeiting strategy
- What partnerships with law enforcement and civil lawsuits against counterfeiters look like in practice
- Why counterfeit goods are often connected to larger organized crime networks
You should listen to this episode if you
- Work in ecommerce, trust and safety, brand protection, fraud, or marketplace operations
- Want a clearer understanding of how marketplaces detect counterfeit sellers and enforce against them
- Care about protecting consumers from counterfeit goods and strengthening marketplace trust and safety
- Need insight into online marketplace brand abuse and ecommerce brand protection strategies
- Are curious how Amazon combines technology, legal pressure, and cross-border enforcement to fight counterfeit networks
If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps get the word out.
Episode notes & key takeaways
Why the Amazon counterfeit crimes unit matters beyond Amazon
Let’s break this down.
The Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit is interesting not just because it exists, but because of what it represents.
A lot of marketplaces talk about trust and safety. They talk about protecting brands and protecting customers. But when a platform builds a dedicated team focused on civil litigation, criminal referrals, and coordinated enforcement, that signals something different.
It signals seriousness.
At first glance, counterfeit prevention can look like a moderation problem. Find the listing. Remove the listing. Suspend the seller. Move on.
But that approach only deals with the symptom.
What Kebharu describes is a system designed to go upstream. Identify the people behind the listings. Work with brands. Support investigations. Coordinate with law enforcement. And sometimes pursue counterfeit networks across borders.
That’s a much more strategic model.
Because counterfeit enforcement gets much stronger when the goal isn’t just cleanup. It’s disruption.
What stands out about that approach:
- The Amazon counterfeit crimes unit treats counterfeit activity as a criminal issue, not just a policy violation
- Counterfeit prevention improves when platforms pursue the people behind the listings
- Marketplace trust and safety becomes stronger when enforcement targets repeat offenders
- Ecommerce brand protection requires more than reactive takedowns once counterfeit networks scale
How brand protection on Amazon works when technology and enforcement connect
Here’s what’s actually happening.
In this episode, Kebharu walks through the layered system Amazon uses to support brand protection. And the important thing is that it isn’t just one tool.
It’s a stack.
AI detection models.
Brand Registry.
Project Zero.
Internal investigations.
Civil lawsuits.
Criminal referrals.
All of those pieces work together.
And that’s the part teams should pay attention to.
Because counterfeit seller detection almost never comes from one signal alone. Some fake listings are obvious. Others look legitimate at first. A seller might appear compliant while still participating in a broader network of abuse.
A listing might get removed while the operator behind it simply spins up another one.
So the strength of the system comes from the fact that multiple layers are connected.
Right.
That’s what makes life harder for bad actors.
Kebharu also talks about how Amazon has invested heavily in machine learning and internal processes that help identify suspicious patterns earlier in the lifecycle. The point isn’t that technology solves everything.
It doesn’t.
The point is that technology becomes much more effective when it feeds into enforcement that actually goes somewhere.
- Brand protection works best when detection tools and enforcement actions are connected
- Project Zero and Brand Registry allow brands to participate directly in counterfeit prevention
- AI detection helps scale monitoring, but only if the downstream response is strong
- Counterfeit detection improves when platforms connect behavior across sellers, listings, and accounts
Why legal pressure and law enforcement partnerships change the game
One of the most useful parts of this conversation is how clearly Kebharu explains the role legal strategy plays in counterfeit prevention.
Because here’s the reality.
If platforms only remove listings and suspend accounts, counterfeiters will keep coming back.
The cost of reentry is low.
The incentives remain.
The playbook still works.
If you want to change the economics of abuse, you have to apply stronger pressure.
That’s where civil lawsuits and law enforcement partnerships come in.
Amazon’s counterfeit crimes unit uses both civil litigation and criminal referrals as part of its strategy. That matters because it raises the stakes. It moves the issue beyond platform moderation and into real-world consequences.
Asset pressure.
Criminal investigations.
Cross-border enforcement.
And that matters.
Because counterfeit networks are rarely simple or local. They often involve complex supply chains, identity abuse, cross-border logistics, and organized actors who intentionally keep distance between themselves and the marketplace listing.
- Civil lawsuits can raise the cost of counterfeit abuse beyond account suspension
- Criminal referrals move cases into broader law enforcement channels
- Cross-border partnerships matter when counterfeit networks operate internationally
- Legal pressure works best when platforms pursue the people behind the abuse, not just the listings
What counterfeit manufacturer takedowns and influencer promotion reveal
This is where things get interesting.
Kebharu talks about investigations that led to counterfeit manufacturer takedowns. That’s important because it shows what happens when enforcement reaches the source of the problem instead of just reacting at the marketplace level.
If the manufacturer or upstream network gets disrupted, the marketplace doesn’t have to absorb all of the downstream abuse.
That’s a much stronger position.
We also talk about social media promotion of counterfeit goods, which highlights another reality: counterfeit activity rarely stays confined to a single platform anymore.
Counterfeiters use multiple channels.
Social platforms.
Influencers.
Marketplace listings.
Off-platform communication paths.
The marketplace is often just the monetization point.
Which, honestly, isn’t that subtle once you start looking for it.
Modern counterfeit prevention has to look beyond the listing itself. Teams need to understand where demand is being created, how sellers are being funneled into marketplaces, and whether the pattern suggests a broader organized operation.
- Manufacturer takedowns can be more effective than endless downstream listing cleanup
- Social media promotion shows how counterfeit activity spans multiple digital channels
- Marketplace brand abuse often begins outside the marketplace
- Counterfeit networks are easier to understand when teams analyze the full ecosystem
Why counterfeit prevention is really about protecting consumers
One of the strongest points Kebharu makes in this conversation is that counterfeiting isn’t a victimless crime.
That’s something people outside the fraud world often overlook.
A fake handbag or knockoff beauty product might sound like a brand issue on the surface. But depending on the product, the harm can extend much further.
Unsafe goods.
Financial loss.
Consumer deception.
And in some cases, links to broader criminal activity.
That’s why protecting consumers from counterfeit goods has to stay at the center of the conversation.
Because the real question isn’t just whether a brand lost revenue. It’s whether the customer was misled, harmed, or pulled into a transaction that should never have been allowed to happen in the first place.
That’s a trust issue.
A safety issue.
And ultimately a platform responsibility issue.
The strongest marketplaces don’t just measure success by how many sellers they add or how large their catalog becomes. They also measure how effectively they keep bad actors out and make enforcement meaningful.
- Protecting consumers requires more than listing moderation
- Marketplace trust depends on enforcement that feels real to both brands and bad actors
- Counterfeit goods should be treated as a serious risk, not a minor abuse category
- Transparency reports like Amazon’s brand protection report show how platform strategy is evolving
Final takeaway
The big takeaway from this episode is pretty straightforward.
The Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit is a useful case study in what happens when a marketplace takes counterfeit abuse seriously enough to build a real enforcement engine around it.
That means technology, brand tools, legal strategy, and law enforcement partnerships all working together.
And for anyone responsible for ecommerce brand protection, that’s a model worth paying attention to.
