Using smartphones to track counterfeit products

It could hardly be easier to check authentic items from counterfeits: Brand owners can integrate the functions of the new tesa dtect app into their own brand apps. This gives consumers, retailers and customs officials a quick and easy way to identify on the hoof whether they have an authentic or counterfeit product in front of them. The new mobile application is based on the tesa connect & check principle and now simplifies the process of authentication.

Whether in goods inwards, at customs or in retail: brand owners, investigators, retailers and consumers are being instructed to identify counterfeit products quickly and take them out of circulation. Brand owners who integrate the functionality of the tesa dtect app into their own mobile brand apps make it easier for their users to verify the authenticity of brand items wherever they are. The QR-code reader in the new tesa app automatically scans the tesa PrioSpot or tesa VeoMark security code without using time-consuming CAPTCHA and transmits it securely to a database. This database interactively checks the code and reports back on the authenticity of the product.

Mobile authenticity certificate

Consumers can carry out this simple form of authenticity verification directly in the shop. They don't even need a separate QR-code scanner. If they discover a counterfeit product, they simply pass on a counterfeiting report to the brand owner. There is also an expert mode, which customs officials can use to log in, for example. Officials can use it to check the covert features that are only visible with a special reading device. The batch scanning function allows several product codes to be scanned in even when the device is offline, and then sent together for checking when there is an Internet connection. Consolidated counterfeiting reports can also easily be created for all items.

“Convenient online authentication using the tesa dtect app is an important component for a comprehensive brand protection concept. In addition, it also creates interesting possibilities for brand communication: the dialogue with the customer about whether or not a product is authentic results in increased communication with consumers via social networks such as Facebook and Twitter or blogs and forums,” explains Volker Hahn, Director of International Marketing at tesa scribos GmbH.