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Brand protection news from our Dubai Team | June 2020

Brand protection news from our Dubai Team | June 2020

Brand protection news from our Dubai Team | June 2020

From the early outset of COVID-19, the UAE government were quick to respond to engage its citizens in a phased approach to help reduce the spread of the virus. 

Business continuity during lockdown from an enforcement perspective

Under the tag line, “We are all responsible,” the campaigns have included the closing of schools in March, sanitisations performed in public areas, curfews and movement restrictions implemented, drives to promote the washing of hands, compulsory wearing of masks at all times and social distancing were just some of the measures set.

While entire families are working from home, the online demand for legitimate sanitising products and safety medical supplies has soared in the fight against this pandemic.  This growth in demand has caused a parallel risk of substandard and counterfeit medical supplies in the global market.

The health and safety of UAE residents is a primary objective, with inspectors from the Consumer Protection Departments and Criminal Investigation Departments in the Emirates proactively carrying out monitoring for price hikes of legitimate products; ensuring there is sufficient stock of food and household items and for the sale of counterfeit COVID-19 related products.

Our Dubai team have been working with clients and Law Enforcement Agencies across the UAE, supporting them with strong anti-counterfeiting measures and have carried out inspections with authorities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ajman for the sale of counterfeit disinfectant cleaning products. Several thousand products have been seized from shops and supermarkets. These products are inferior in quality, the chemical properties are unknown and will most likely cause harm to the customer who has purchased it in good faith.

Here are our top tips to identify counterfeit disinfectant:

  • Check the packaging quality
  • Overt spelling mistakes
  • Verify using QR/Scan code checking apps
  • Identify any leakage on the product
  • Determine whether the price is too low

Now that customers are favouring online purchases over visiting shops, these traders who may have only relied upon customers visiting their physical premises have also had to change the way they operate and move the sale of products to social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) and local e-commerce platforms.

Taking proactive measures, our team have monitored these platforms, and have increased our online test purchases for counterfeit products. On confirming the counterfeit nature of the products, we then perform due diligence using Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) measures on the sellers to establish connections to trading and storage addresses in readiness for enforcement action with local UAE authorities.

TenIntelligence leads Abu Dhabi Customs online training

While working remotely, our team presented online training to over 100 inspectors from both departments at Abu Dhabi Customs and the Abu Dhabi Consumer Protection to assist in identifying counterfeit COVID-19 related products.

For more updates, you can follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @TenIntelligence.

You can also visit our website at www.tenintel.com/brand-protection, where you can find out how we support clients in the identification, gather intelligence and the execution of enforcement notices on counterfeit branded goods found in the UAE.

To protect your brand and keep your customers safe, contact our brand protection team in Dubai at dubai@tenintel.com, so we can work collaboratively for the identification and safe removal of counterfeit products.

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