Problem: A national brand discovered its mascot costume was being counterfeited by an eBay seller. Marksmen was brought in to investigate.

Results:

  • Marksmen uses skillful trust-building techniques to track down an eBay seller of counterfeit branded costumes in China.
  • Marksmen tours an overseas factory and gathers findings for our client.
  • The client was pleased with our dossier of evidence and the results of the investigation.

Problem 1

Identifying Counterfeit Mascot Costumes from China

Marksmen’s client, a firm representing a national brand, contacted us with a concern about mascot character counterfeiting. The brand's main mascot is a prominent aspect of their business and they’d recently discovered that someone was selling full-sized counterfeit mascot costumes on eBay. 

At the outset of the investigation, Marksmen began building its case based on very little available information. We had the seller’s eBay username but the original product listing had already been removed from the site.

Through the initial investigation, we were able to find other eBay product listings and determined the counterfeiter’s point of origin was in China. We began expanding the case by gathering additional evidence based on our investigatory expertise.

Marksmen quickly located the international source of the counterfeiting and started building a compelling case file of evidence.

PROBLEM 2

Establishing Rapport and Relationship-Building

Marksmen communicated with the counterfeiter using trust-building techniques that forged friendly back-and-forth interactions. Initially, the seller hadn’t revealed the company’s name but later provided an address during a purchase Marksmen made.

Working from this address, we were able to pin down more information about the counterfeiter. Identifying the target location, we then worked to discover associated business entities and contacts. 

As Marksmen built an ongoing rapport with the counterfeiter, a representative from the company was proud to share that they could also offer us many other costumes of well-known brands in addition to the type we’d already purchased. We continued our communications and determined that this company had been in business for 10 years while selling its products across the world.

Using extensive experience with investigatory techniques, we forged a bond with our target and set the stage for an in-person visit.

We skillfully built a relationship with our target while gathering evidence on behalf of our clients.

Problem 3

Wrapping Up a Successful International Investigation

At this point, it was time to find out what else we could uncover about the situation for our client. The counterfeiter had become so comfortable with us that they cordially invited us to visit their location and take a tour of their production facility.

We had multiple goals for this international investigation, including determining that the costumes were being produced at the factory in question, viewing the production process, and gaining a deeper understanding of the scope of the operation. During our visit, we viewed hundreds of boxes of mascot costumes stored in a large warehouse and learned that the company could produce and ship hundreds of additional costumes within weeks.

We presented our findings with a detailed dossier of information to our client. The client was pleased with the investigation and had everything they needed to proceed with next steps to protect the brand.

Our client received a full intelligence report with evidence of international brand infringement, successfully wrapping up our investigation.