According to the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. consumers reported losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud in 2021, an increase of 70% from the previous year. As anyone who’s gotten a fraud alert from their credit card company knows, tech has long played a role in stopping fraudulent transactions. Now, though, machine learning is helping retailers and carriers offer consumers more confidence that the products and services being offered to them are legitimate.
A jungle out there
In the first place, many consumers go to find products; Amazon has a central role to play in keeping the purchase process as safe and reliable as possible. And as with so much about the company, it does so on a staggering scale. According to a brand protection report released in June, the company notes it has over 12,000 people working on brand protection efforts. That includes a dedicated Counterfeit Crimes Unit that investigates suspected fraudsters, shuts down their accounts, and even helps in efforts to prosecute perpetrators. Amazon scans more than eight billion attempted changes to product pages each day and blocked more than four billion attempts to create fake seller accounts last year.
In addition to working with owners of big brands such as Procter & Gamble, GoPro, Yeti and Whirlpool to pursue counterfeiters, the company operates an IP accelerator to help small businesses connect with legal help to protect their intellectual property. And if it finds that…
