Who Is Behind Online Counterfeiting?

Many federal trials have been deposited by the owners of intellectual property in recent years to try to deal with online threats intensify from "pirate sites." In addition, the Department of Justice United States and the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs have seized millions of dollars in assets, and many sites covered by the use of criminal law in force.
However, while Internet traffic to these sites were measured and determined to make it big, little research has been conducted to examine the existing body of empirical data related to this phenomenon.
A detailed empirical investigation of more than 3,000 websites that the federal court ordered the closure due to the sale of counterfeit goods, they found that online counterfeiters can collect huge profits by generating more than $10,000 in sales with an initial investment of $1,000.
Analysis of the potential profit margin of a line forger "can be summarized in the distribution of a typical sample of income and expenses as follows: The average cost to register a Internet domain name only: $10 - $20 per domain, per year. The average cost to host some of the e-commerce site on a shared server: $120 to $160 per year. International shipping is either paid by the customer or absorbed by the seller if it is an inexpensive (under $10 per item). Credit card / online payment processing fee: 3-5% of the selling price. Wholesale prices of counterfeit products vary depending on brand and product category.
For example, a typical mantle has a fake $40 - $50 wholesale price, costing $230 - $300 on a malicious Web site. A typical fake handbag: $40 - $50 wholesale, retails for $200 - $300 on a malicious Web site. A bracelet very false: $10 wholesale price, at $70 - $80 on a malicious Web site. A typical fake watches: wholesale price $10, worth $160 on a malicious Web site.
Therefore, starting with an investment of $1000, if a whole host of e-commerce website ($160) associated with five domain names ($100), and invest the remaining funds ($700) in the sale of counterfeit goods and the delivery of large, people can produce: Up to $11 200 by selling 70 counterfeit watches (11.2x initial investment); Up to $5600 by selling 70 fake bands (5.6x initial investment) or up to $4,200 by selling 14 coat or a bag of fake (4.2x initial investment).
Business model offers a low risk comparable yield on investment (ROI) against the illegal drug trade.
Because of this dramatic ROI, online fraud network exponentially on the Internet, such as the spread of infection. For example, the return on investment of a single website success selling counterfeit products encourage the creation of websites such as many others.
Skilled programmer with access to advanced technology and supply of counterfeit products that the choice to create and operate the site. To protect their business model, they use a variety of creative tactics to thwart efforts to monitor and remove from the market. For example, they are dynamically redirect their websites on multiple servers in different countries.
High bandwidth dedicated server for hosting the site, with large blocks of server space and a dedicated IP address to manage their Internet traffic.
Counterfeiters site 'actually create significant confusion for consumers. One reason is that prices of counterfeit goods that are designed to be credible to offer genuine counterfeit products is not of lower quality cuts.
Goods received are usually shipped directly from locations throughout China and Hong Kong and China is the country most often referred to as the registrant. However, applicants are generally not provide valid contact information or inconsistent when registering new domain names, nonsense often using addresses, words absurd and false.
In addition, the holder uses some privacy "services provided by the Office to purchase a further coat of anonymity.
Software applications make it easier for offenders, and shed thousands of registered domain names containing a permutation of the brand of the mark.
This conclusion makes it possible that "bad sites" selling counterfeit goods, will likely continue to proliferate, demanding legal action will be taken by brand owners.