PRESS RELEASE: TIC Council Americas Virtual Panel 1: Counterfeits and Online Fraud, Scoping the Problem

TIC Council

PRESS RELEASE: TIC Council Americas Virtual Panel 1: Counterfeits and Online Fraud, Scoping the Problem

Washington, 24 September 2020 – TIC Council Americas, the Americas branch of the TIC Council, held on Tuesday, September 22, the first of a 3-part virtual panel series exploring the scope of online fraud and sale of counterfeit products and the impact of these activities on industry, government, and consumers.

The kick-off panel of the series included a presentation from Michael Hanson, Senior Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) discussing the effect of Organized Retail Crime (ORC) and counterfeiting on industry. Palmer Orlandi, Director & Chief Science Officer at AOAC International discussed adulterants in food products and difficulties in confirming authentic products. Closing out the panel, Rick Rosati, Vice President of Government Affairs and Industry Standards in the Americas at Bureau Veritas Consumer Product Services (BVCPS) discussed the TIC industry’s efforts to combat the counterfeiting of industry certification marks and reports and to support industry, agencies, and consumers in identifying counterfeit marks on products.

A critical question voiced during the panel was, how can purchasers confirm the authenticity of a product or put pressure on online sellers, regulators, and industry to enact positive changes to combat online fraud and the sale of counterfeit goods.

Rick Rosati noted that a list of resources including an informative TIC Council White Paper on Identification and Impact of Counterfeit Test Reports and Certificates and links to TIC organization websites are available on the TIC Council website. Michael Hanson highlighted their work on the Buy Safe Coalition (of which TIC Council is a participant) and outreach to additional stakeholders. And Palmer Orlandi discussed the AOAC’s efforts to develop test methods and to seek alignment throughout the world supply chain to ensure that authentic products reach consumer tables.

In the second panel of the series, scheduled for October 1, TIC Council will hear from CPSC Commissioner Baiocco and others as they discuss the real impact that online fraud and counterfeiting has been having on consumers and industry.

The third and final panel will welcome Customs and Border Protection and other regulators and stakeholders as they discuss the programs and efforts underway to slow the flow of counterfeit products crossing international borders and fraud being perpetrated online.

The webinar recording for the first panel is available here.

For additional information and to register to attend the series, visit the TIC Council website at https://www.tic-council.org/or reach out to Karin Athanas at kathanas@tic-council.org

 

About TIC Council

TIC Council is the global trade federation representing the independent third-party Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) industry which brings together more than 90-member companies and organizations from around the world to speak with one voice. Its members provide services across a wide range of sectors: consumer products, medical devices, petroleum, mining and metals, food, and agriculture among others. Through provision of these services, TIC Council members assure that not only regulatory requirements are met, but also that reliability, economic value, and sustainability are enhanced.  TIC Council’s members are present in more than 160 countries and employ more than 300,000 people across the globe.

Media enquiries:
Laura Martin
Communications Manager

TIC Council
Rue du Commerce 20/22
B-1000 Brussels
tel: +32 2 5115065
email: laura.martin@tic-council.org
website: www.tic-council.org

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