Latest news with #CCU
Hypebeast
2 days ago
- Business
- Hypebeast
Amazon Is Helping Create an Authentic Shopping Experience for Fashion Purchases—Here's How
In the age of streetwear drops, limited-edition collabs, and high-fashion goods, authenticity is everything. For those who understand the cultural and financial value of genuine pieces—whether it's a grailed archive jacket or an event exclusive hoodie—counterfeits are not just an issue of consumer trust. They threaten entire retail ecosystems. Amazon's Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU), now marking five years of global enforcement, is worth paying attention to. Built to crack down on counterfeit operations globally, the CCU is part ofAmazon's mission to protect shoppers, brands, and selling partners alike—and the impact is setting a new bar for accountability across the retail landscape. The CCU has scaled up fast since launching in 2020 and in just five years, the team has initiated 200+ civil actions. Their efforts in fighting counterfeits and fraud have led to more than $180 million USD in court-ordered restitution and judgments for brands and victims. Backed by over $1 billion USD in investment toward fraud prevention, as well as AI-powered detection tools, Amazon prevents more than 99% of suspected counterfeit listings from its store before they can even reach customers. Today, the CCU operates in 12 countries, from just 2 in 2020, and partners with more than 50 government agencies, including EUROPOL, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and law enforcement specializing in intellectual property crime globally. For shoppers, this means less risk and more confidence when they click 'buy.' And this goes beyond the numbers—it's also about cultural integrity. For fashion enthusiasts navigating Amazon's diverse selection of brands, the reassurance that what they're buying is legit makes all the difference. From everyday fitness staples to luxury selections through experiences likeSaks on Amazon—a new, curated experience in Luxury Stores at Amazon featuring sought-after luxury brands, including Dolce&Gabbana, Balmain, Etro, Stella McCartney, and Giambattista Valli—Amazon's retail team is focused on empowering customers to shop with confidence and access a mix of emerging and established brands that reflect real style diversity. With new drops likeGAME 7by Mark Messier orPRO STANDARD's officially licensed sportswear, this level of protection matters more than ever in a hype-driven market. But what truly sets Amazon apart is how it's leveragingpartnerships and innovation to future-proof authenticity. Amazon'sapproachto private and public sector partnerships has only grown more critical as industry interest and adoption of brand protection technology accelerate. Recently, Amazon collaborated with global jewelry brand Pandora to identify counterfeiters selling thousands of fake Pandora items to customers across nine European countries, using Amazon fulfillment center records to provide crucial evidence that helped secure convictions, with the main offender receiving a prison sentence exceeding three years plus significant fines. Amazon tools like Transparency support tens of thousands of brands worldwide, helping verify billions of product units as genuine before they could ever be shipped. Relatively, Amazon is building systems that discourage counterfeiters from entering its store in the first place. For a generation raised on resale culture, grail hunting, and the prestige of the 'real thing,' this kind of vigilance matters. Amazon's goal of driving counterfeits to zero is a necessary evolution in retail. Whether you're copping a playoff jersey or investing in timeless fits, knowing your purchase is protected adds value beyond the price tag. In an industry where every detail counts, trust is style's most underrated flex. To learn more, read through Amazon's most recentBrand Protection Reportand the CCU's progress over the last five years.
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
Roblox's Grow A Garden Explodes Online Video Game Numbers
A gardening game created by a teenager on online platform Roblox has attracted a record 21 million simultaneous players, a figure rarely seen in the industry. "You could quite easily never have heard of Grow a Garden... and yet it is by some measures the biggest video game at the moment," Dom Tait, an analyst with UK firm Omdia, told AFP. More than 21 million players connected to Grow a Garden at the same time on June 21, buying seeds to cultivate a little patch of virtual land, harvesting crops, selling their produce and nicking stuff from other players' plots. That shattered the record held by the adrenalin-packed Fortnite, which attracted 15 million concurrent users (CCUs) during an event in late 2020 featuring characters from the Marvel universe. "It's enormous," Tait said of Grow a Garden's success. He said it was difficult to say categorically if the sedate farming-themed game had broken all CCU records because other platforms do not necessarily publish numbers for other hugely popular games, such as Honor of Kings. "(But) I think we can be confident it's a record for Roblox because Roblox has given us these these figures," he said. Roblox, which is popular with children and teenagers, was released in 2005 and is now available on almost all consoles and on mobile phones. It has morphed into an online gaming platform -- one of the world's largest -- where players can programme their own games and try out other users' creations. Games on the platform are free to play. Roblox makes its money through a range of revenue streams, including in-game purchases, advertising and royalty fees. Grow a Garden appeared in late March, developed by a teenager about whom little is known. Game development group Splitting Point Studios soon snapped up a share. The original creator "literally made the game in, like, three days", Splitting Point CEO Janzen Madsen told specialist website Game File. Tait says the success of Grow a Garden, with its simple graphics and basic mechanics, can be explained by its comforting nature. "There's not much danger. There's not much threat. You just sort of go on and do things and just sort of have a gentle experience," he said. He pointed to the satisfaction players derived from seeing their garden evolve, even when they are not connected. A bit like a real garden, only quicker. The concept is reminiscent of Animal Crossing, a simulation of life in a village populated by cute animals that became a soothing refuge for many players during the first Covid lockdowns in 2020. For specialist site Gamediscover, another attraction of Grow a Garden is the ease with which players can get to grips with the game -- a bonus for Roblox, which said 40 percent of the platform's users last year were under 13. It is difficult to know exactly how much Grow a Garden has earned for its developers. But Tait said those who created the best paid experiences received "about 70 percent" of the money spent by gamers "with Roblox taking the rest". Roblox says on its website it paid out $923 million to developers in 2024. "It is big money. So there's a little bit of nervousness in the industry about, 'Is Roblox taking away the audience that would otherwise have spent hundreds of pounds on a console and bought my console games?'" These sums demonstrate the weight in the video game industry of behemoths like Roblox and Fortnite, which have recently peaked at 350 and 100 million monthly players respectively. "Both places provide a massive audience -- as large as any single console platform audience -- and they provide awesome opportunities for creators," Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Fortnite publisher Epic Games, told The Game Business website. Beyond its success, Roblox has also come in for criticism. US investment research firm Hindenburg Research published a report in 2024 accusing the platform of inflating its monthly active player count and not sufficiently protecting users from sexual predators. In response, Roblox rejected Hindenburg's "financial claims" as "misleading" and said on its investor relations website it had "a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity".
France 24
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- France 24
Roblox's Grow a Garden explodes online video game numbers
"You could quite easily never have heard of Grow a Garden... and yet it is by some measures the biggest video game at the moment," Dom Tait, an analyst with UK firm Omdia, told AFP. More than 21 million players connected to Grow a Garden at the same time on June 21, buying seeds to cultivate a little patch of virtual land, harvesting crops, selling their produce and nicking stuff from other players' plots. That shattered the record held by the adrenalin-packed Fortnite, which attracted 15 million concurrent users (CCUs) during an event in late 2020 featuring characters from the Marvel universe. "It's enormous," Tait said of Grow a Garden's success. He said it was difficult to say categorically if the sedate farming-themed game had broken all CCU records because other platforms do not necessarily publish numbers for other hugely popular games, such as Honor of Kings. "(But) I think we can be confident it's a record for Roblox because Roblox has given us these these figures," he said. Roblox, which is popular with children and teenagers, was released in 2005 and is now available on almost all consoles and on mobile phones. It has morphed into an online gaming platform -- one of the world's largest -- where players can programme their own games and try out other users' creations. Games on the platform are free to play. Roblox makes its money through a range of revenue streams, including in-game purchases, advertising and royalty fees. - Created in three days - Grow a Garden appeared in late March, developed by a teenager about whom little is known. Game development group Splitting Point Studios soon snapped up a share. The original creator "literally made the game in, like, three days", Splitting Point CEO Janzen Madsen told specialist website Game File. Tait says the success of Grow a Garden, with its simple graphics and basic mechanics, can be explained by its comforting nature. "There's not much danger. There's not much threat. You just sort of go on and do things and just sort of have a gentle experience," he said. He pointed to the satisfaction players derived from seeing their garden evolve, even when they are not connected. A bit like a real garden, only quicker. The concept is reminiscent of Animal Crossing, a simulation of life in a village populated by cute animals that became a soothing refuge for many players during the first Covid lockdowns in 2020. For specialist site Gamediscover, another attraction of Grow a Garden is the ease with which players can get to grips with the game -- a bonus for Roblox, which said 40 percent of the platform's users last year were under 13. - Massive audience - It is difficult to know exactly how much Grow a Garden has earned for its developers. But Tait said those who created the best paid experiences received "about 70 percent" of the money spent by gamers "with Roblox taking the rest". Roblox says on its website it paid out $923 million to developers in 2024. "It is big money. So there's a little bit of nervousness in the industry about, 'Is Roblox taking away the audience that would otherwise have spent hundreds of pounds on a console and bought my console games?'" These sums demonstrate the weight in the video game industry of behemoths like Roblox and Fortnite, which have recently peaked at 350 and 100 million monthly players respectively. "Both places provide a massive audience -- as large as any single console platform audience -- and they provide awesome opportunities for creators," Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Fortnite publisher Epic Games, told The Game Business website. Beyond its success, Roblox has also come in for criticism. US investment research firm Hindenburg Research published a report in 2024 accusing the platform of inflating its monthly active player count and not sufficiently protecting users from sexual predators. In response, Roblox rejected Hindenburg's "financial claims" as "misleading" and said on its investor relations website it had "a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity".
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Amazon's anti-counterfeit team secures $180 mn in global penalties
Amazon's Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU), launched five years ago to combat fraudulent goods on its platform, has driven more than 200 civil actions and helped secure criminal sanctions and over $180 million in financial penalties against counterfeiters, the company said. 'Five years ago, we created the Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU)—a global team made up of former federal prosecutors, intelligence agents, police officers, investigators, and data analysts—all working together in partnership with brands to investigate, find, and launch legal action and criminal referrals against counterfeiters,' said Dharmesh Mehta, vice president, Worldwide Selling Partner Services, Amazon, in a company blog post. 'Over the last five years, the CCU's global reach has expanded from operating in just two countries initially to 12 countries today, including the US, China, France, India, and the UK.' India ranks among the top five countries most affected by counterfeiting, with sectors such as pharmaceuticals, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), electronics, luxury goods, and auto parts particularly exposed, experts say. The country's counterfeit market is valued at $12 billion to $30 billion annually, forming a significant part of the global counterfeit trade, which stood at $467 billion in 2021 and is projected to surge to $1.79 trillion by 2030. CCU has grown from seven government agency partnerships in 2020 to more than 50 today. It has worked with agencies such as Europol, US Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, the City of London Police, and specialised intellectual property crime units across multiple countries. The CCU takes a proactive approach that combines advanced technology with expert investigators working together to stop counterfeits before they reach the Amazon store or customers. Using AI and machine learning, Amazon has improved detection capabilities to block more than 99 per cent of suspected infringing listings before a brand ever needs to find and report them. The systems scan for keywords, text, logos, and hundreds of other data points that can indicate potential infringement while continuously learning and improving to stay ahead of bad actors. These efforts are complemented with powerful tools such as Brand Registry and Transparency, which help brand partners more effectively protect their intellectual property. This work has also led to significant criminal prosecutions and penalties for counterfeiters worldwide, including prison sentences for more than 65 individuals. The anti-counterfeiting investigations often cross international borders, combining sophisticated detective work with law enforcement partnerships. In one case, the CCU traced counterfeit ridesharing brand products from a US-based bad actor to a network of manufacturers in China, leading to coordinated raids that seized more than 2,100 counterfeit items. Working with brands and law enforcement across multiple countries, the CCU disrupted the criminals' entire supply chain and secured a $1.1 million judgment against the primary bad actor. For such efforts, the CCU has worked with hundreds of well-known brands such as Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, BMW, Philips, Lego, Canon, Cisco, and Brother. There are also local small businesses such as Capri Blue and family-owned card game maker Dutch Blitz. A recent example of this collaborative approach is the work with Pandora, the global jewellery brand sold in over 100 countries. Amazon and Pandora worked together to identify counterfeiters attempting to sell thousands of fake Pandora items to customers across nine European countries, including France, Germany, Spain, and the UK. 'This successful collaboration with Amazon shows how impactful joint efforts can be in stopping counterfeiting operations,' said Peter Ring, senior vice-president and general counsel, Pandora. 'By combining our global brand protection expertise with Amazon's investigative capabilities, we supported local law enforcement in dismantling a sophisticated criminal network.'
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Amazon's crackdown on counterfeits nets $180M in penalties, dozens of criminal convictions
Amazon has said that its Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) has helped secure more than $180 million in court-ordered penalties and resulted in 65 criminal convictions globally, as part of the company's ongoing mission to protect customers and brands from counterfeit products. More than 99 per cent of suspected infringing listings were blocked before reaching the Amazon platform, the e-commerce major said in a press release on Thursday, June 26. Amazon said that it used AI-driven detection systems keyword and logo analysis, and tools like brand registry and transparency in order to identify the listings of counterfeit products on its platform. This, in turn, led to over 200 civil legal actions, as per the company. The AI boom has also led to a rise in cyber crimes with bad actors like counterfeiters leveraging the technology to evolve their tactics. Amazon's 2024 Brand Protection Report also emphasises that the threat of counterfeits remains an evolving challenge. The company plans to continue investing in advanced detection technologies and enforcement strategies, with the goal of driving counterfeits to zero. 'We're constantly enhancing our tools and technology to stay ahead,' it said. The CCU was set up by Amazon five years ago and has since expanded to over 12 countries, including India, China, the US, the UK, and France. The CCU team comprises former prosecutors, law enforcement professionals, and data analysts. It has also partnered with over 50 government agencies, including EUROPOL, the FBI, and US Homeland Security investigations. In one case, CCU investigations led to the arrest and sentencing of a counterfeiter to six and a half years in prison. In another cross-border operation, Amazon and brand partners uncovered a counterfeit ride-sharing accessories scheme originating in the US and connected to suppliers in China, culminating in multiple raids and a $1.1 million judgment against the main culprit, as per the company. Also Read | Amazon CEO to employees: AI will shrink the company's workforce 'To achieve these results, we collaborate with others in the industry. We work with brands of all sizes to pursue counterfeiters. Our combined efforts give law enforcement the evidence to stop criminals in their tracks,' Amazon said. Recently, the company teamed up with global jewellery brand Pandora for a nearly three-year investigation in China that resulted in convictions, substantial fines, and a prison sentence of over three years for the primary offender. The case involved counterfeit goods, where bad actors had been targeting customers across nine European countries. (This article has been curated by Arfan Jeelany, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
