Your brand name is being misused, now what?
Unfortunately, you cannot control what criminals do with your brand name. However, you can improve the protection of your brand against fraud. Misuse does happen, and criminals are getting more and more resourceful. This spring, a producer of spread pastes received a curious consumer complaint. A consumer had found a piece of duct tape in a suspicious spread jar.
In March 2023, the consumer services of a spread paste producer was in an uproar. A customer had found a piece of duct tape in a jar of their brand. Moreover, the product had been expired for months and should never have ended up on the shelves in the first place. A difficult case.
The product was returned to the producer for further investigation. Their discovery? There were some vacuum-packed pills and a bag of powder inside the duct tape. A very lost package that did not make it to the right person.
Online misuse of brand names is also commonplace. Think:
- counterfeit products
- phishing
- fake websites
- ...
AI also makes identity fraud child's play. Scammers use ChatGPT to build a website in no time. On the other hand, intelligent writing assistants help construct messages in the same tone of voice of your brand.
As a producer, you can hardly stop lawbreakers from misusing your brand name. You can, however, prepare for such a scenario.
Is your brand a victim of fraud or do you have a strong suspicion? File a report on meldpunt.belgie.be where you can report suspicious activities.
Do you want to take preventive measures? Go to i-Force.be for help with fact-finding and in-depth research and analysis.
What can we learn from this incident?
Be available at all times
Also after business hours and on weekends. Not enough staff to answer the phone 24/7? Opt for a call center or set up a rotation system for your in-house consumer service. For urgent matters, you can use our "consumer line" service. This means that we answer urgent calls during off-hours.
Create awareness
A few consumer tips about common "tampering" can go a long way. Always check if packages are properly closed or sealed.
- Does the cap of the bottle snap when opening?
- Is the aluminum sheet of the spread paste jar still intact?
- Does the cardboard straw of the Tetra package contain objects?
Stay alert
Increase your awareness and follow criminal phenomena in the industry closely. We send you a monthly update with (inter)national cases in the food industry.
Is your company sufficiently armed against fraud?
On 28/09 we organize our study afternoon 'Crime & Security'*, where 7 Belgian experts will share their story.
Learn from the cases of major players such as Dr. Oetker and Coca-Cola and delve into burning issues, such as AI and its impact on organized crime.
Guest speaker Bart De Bie from i-Force will specifically discuss financial fraud prevention and detection. He will give practical tips and tricks that you can use right away.
* This event is only available at our physical location in French and Dutch
Learning points
First aid for consumer complaints
When receiving a sensitive consumer complaint, a swift response is key. Proper complaint management directly affects consumer confidence in your brand and products.
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