IACC Tackles Counterfeit Sales on the iOffer Marketplace

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) and its partners from the payment industry have disrupted the sale of dangerous counterfeits sold on iOffer. The popular online marketplace temporarily shut down its website after the partners took steps to stop payment processing on the site. 

iOffer has been a tremendous point of frustration for brands and the IP community. Counterfeit goods were easily found across the site, putting well intentioned shoppers at risk of buying fake goods. 

Based in San Francisco, CA, iOffer boasts having more than 100 million items and millions of daily users on its site. 

"iOffer advertises itself as an online marketplace where you can buy and sell 'practically anything.' Unfortunately, 'anything' includes inferior and harmful fakes such as electronics, batteries, sneakers, jewelry and handbags, to name a few," said IACC President Bob Barchiesi. "We hope iOffer will take this opportunity to protect their customers by building systems and processes to mitigate against fakes on their site." 

The IACC through its signature RogueBlock® program, gathered input from its brand members and worked with its payment partners to address the sale of counterfeits on the marketplace.

"I want to applaud Mastercard and the efforts of all our payment partners who work with us on RogueBlock and who are committed to ensuring their services are not being used for illegitimate purposes. Together, we are protecting unwitting consumers from buying counterfeit, inferior goods. Our Payment Partners have become an integral part of our community of stakeholders committed to fighting fakes," Mr. Barchiesi said.

"At Mastercard, we want every commerce engagement to be simple, safe and secure, with people able to trust that they'll get what they paid for. We're pleased to collaborate with the IACC as well as retailers and banks across our network to uphold high standards that facilitate that trust," says Paul Petta, chief franchise officer, Mastercard.

The global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods is worth over half a trillion dollars, with e-commerce constituting a significant, portion of these transactions¹. These purchases pose a risk to both businesses and consumers as fake goods are often made of harmful, substandard components. 

About IACC
The IACC (www.iacc.org) is a Washington, DC-based not-for-profit organization representing the interests of companies concerned with trademark counterfeiting and the related theft of intellectual property. The members of the IACC include many of the world's best-known brands across all product sectors. The IACC has played a leading role in the development of cross-industry voluntary agreements, to address the illicit trafficking of counterfeit and pirated goods online, including its IACC MarketSafe® and RogueBlock® initiatives.

About RogueBlock®
RogueBlock, the IACC's payment processor initiative, is a collaborative effort of the IACC and the payment industry to create a streamlined, simplified procedure for members to report online sellers of counterfeit or pirated goods directly to credit card and financial services companies. With a goal of facilitating prompt action against counterfeiters' merchant accounts and diminishing the ability of such sellers to profit from their illicit sales, the RogueBlock® program offers members a cost-efficient tool for IP enforcement. To date, the program has terminated over 5,000 individual counterfeiters' merchant accounts, which has impacted over 200,000 websites.

¹ OECD Report: Trends in Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods

SOURCE International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition