City of London Police seized more than 26,000 counterfeit items in May 2026 after raiding a warehouse tied to TikTok influencers who were selling fakes through hours-long livestreams. That single case tells you most of what you need to know about where counterfeiting is headed. It’s not on a listing page anymore. It’s in the feed, in the livestream, in the video you scrolled past three minutes ago.

TikTok has grown into a major U.S. shopping destination, with roughly 170 million American users, and TikTok Shop has moved well past its early launch phase into a real commerce channel. Instagram has taken a different path, stepping back from its old dedicated Shop tab while quietly building more commerce into Reels and posts through affiliate links and product tagging. The result on both platforms is the same: discovery, trust-building, and checkout are all happening inside the same fifteen seconds of video.

Last updated: August 2026
By: Alex Zaika, Axencis

What is social commerce counterfeiting?

Social commerce counterfeiting is the sale or promotion of counterfeit goods through social platforms where discovery and purchase happen inside, or are driven directly by, social content itself. That covers in-app checkouts, product-tagged posts, affiliate-linked Reels, creator storefronts, livestream selling, and seller videos that route buyers toward direct purchase pages or messaging apps.

It’s worth separating this from classic marketplace counterfeiting, because the difference isn’t cosmetic. On Amazon or eBay, a shopper lands on a catalogue page, reads reviews, and decides. On TikTok or Instagram, the “decision” is often made mid-scroll, prompted by a creator someone already follows and trusts. The sales funnel is embedded in entertainment rather than sitting next to it.

This shift also changes how fake goods get normalized. TikTok Shop surfaces products through search, the Shop tab, creator videos, and live sessions, and Vogue Business has pointed out how effectively that discoverability plays into a “dupe mindset” many shoppers already have. On Instagram, Meta’s push to embed affiliate commerce directly into Reels means creators can tag shoppable products inside content that feels like a recommendation, not an ad.

One distinction brands need to get right in their own messaging: not every dupe is a counterfeit. A product that borrows aesthetic elements (like color or shape) without using your trademark or falsely claiming brand affiliation may be legal, depending on factors like how distinctive the design is, whether it infringes a design patent, or if it violates trade dress rights. The line is blurry. A counterfeit, by contrast, explicitly uses your trademark or claims to be your brand – that’s unambiguous infringement.

But counterfeit sellers actively exploit this grey area, using language like “1:1,” “replica,” or “inspired by” to make their listings sound legal while actually copying your trademark or creating consumer confusion about origin.

How are counterfeiters using TikTok Shop to sell fakes?

Counterfeiters on TikTok Shop are using livestreams, seller videos, and affiliate creators to move fake goods faster than moderation can catch them. Reuters reported that U.S. TikTok merchants often sell through hours-long live sessions, and that spotting infringement in that format is far harder than reviewing a static product listing. A photo can be checked against a brand’s catalogue in seconds. A live video demo, running for two hours to a rotating audience, can’t be checked the same way.

Vogue Business described TikTok Shop’s structure as an open marketplace where product links surface through seller videos and creator livestreams, with commissions paid to the creators who drive sales. That’s exactly what makes it attractive to counterfeiters. No need for a polished storefront. Just a creator with an audience and a livestream that converts before anyone looks too closely.

The May 2026 warehouse raid is the clearest real-world proof of this. Police described a “growing trend” of TikTok Shop accounts using influencers to push counterfeit goods to thousands of viewers at once, built around a commission structure that rewarded higher livestream sales.

Beauty is where this problem hits closest to home for most households. A July 2025 Which? investigation tested 34 beauty products bought from Amazon, eBay, TikTok Shop, and Vinted. 23 came back likely counterfeit, a 67% fail rate. Broken down by platform: 4 of 11 from Amazon, 8 of 11 from eBay, 5 of 6 from TikTok Shop, and 6 of 6 from Vinted. The brands involved weren’t obscure names, either. Maybelline, La Roche-Posay, Charlotte Tilbury, MAC, and The Ordinary all turned up in the sample.

The risk isn’t trivial. Millions of people already trust TikTok for beauty recommendations, so counterfeit products can spread quickly before brands have time to respond.

Why are livestreams and short-form video so hard to police?

The core problem is timing, not intent. On a static listing, a brand can pull a photo, compare it to their catalogue, and file a takedown on their own schedule. In social commerce, the infringing product might appear for a moment in a two-minute live demo that’s gone by the time anyone reviews it.

Reuters found that IP enforcement vendors and lawyers are still struggling to detect infringement in shoppable video specifically. Some vendors told Reuters that despite monitoring hundreds of alerts across still images and listing text, none of those alerts had ever flagged infringement happening inside shoppable video.

So what happens when the format outpaces the detection tool? Brands often have to rely more heavily on human review, because infringement appearing inside livestreams or short-form video is significantly harder for today’s automated monitoring systems to detect than infringement in static listings or images.

There’s also a transparency problem underneath all this. In May 2025, the European Commission issued a preliminary finding that TikTok had failed to provide the searchable, transparent ad repository required under the EU’s Digital Services Act, one regulators consider important for scrutinizing scam and manipulative advertising. Less ad transparency means less visibility for brand monitoring teams trying to catch sponsored counterfeit promotion before it spreads.

How can brands monitor TikTok and Instagram for counterfeits?

Brands should treat TikTok as both a marketplace and a media channel, not just one or the other. That means monitoring goes beyond product listings to include seller videos, creator affiliate clips, hashtags tied to key SKUs, live shopping events, and comment threads where shoppers are already asking “real or fake?” or requesting off-platform contact details.

Evidence capture matters more here than it does on a traditional marketplace. A screenshot of a livestream alone doesn’t hold up the same way a listing screenshot does. Recorded clips, seller account IDs, timestamps, and linked product pages give enforcement teams something they can actually act on once the stream has ended.

TikTok has built formal infrastructure for this. TikTok launched an Intellectual Property Protection Centre where brands can upload rights documentation and report infringing content directly. It only works, though, if a brand’s rights documentation is current and enforcement teams can move fast once a livestream starts converting.

Meta’s ecosystem calls for a slightly different toolset. In 2025, Meta updated its Brand Rights Protection tools so requests can be categorized by copyright, counterfeit, impersonation, and trademark, adding a pathway specifically for scam ads that misuse a brand name without necessarily reproducing classic trademark elements. That category covers exactly the kind of deepfake and fake-endorsement ads that don’t fit neatly into old-school counterfeit reporting.

Putting that together, a workable monitoring strategy has four layers:

1. Register your marks with each platform’s rights portal so takedown requests move quickly instead of getting stuck in verification.
2. Monitor product-led commerce signals such as product tags, affiliate mentions, seller accounts, and live shopping events tied to your SKUs.
3. Monitor ad-led impersonation signals, including creative using phrases like “official giveaway,” “founder recommendation,” or “clearance,” which often show up in scam and counterfeit-adjacent ads.
4. Connect social monitoring to a real takedown workflow so anything suspicious can escalate quickly, with legal involvement when needed.

If your enforcement approach still treats TikTok and Instagram as smaller versions of Amazon, it’s worth comparing that against how marketplace brand protection actually works today. The listing-based model was built for static catalogues. Social platforms need a different rhythm.

Are deepfake ads a counterfeiting threat?

Deepfake ads aren’t trademark counterfeiting in the legal sense. They don’t involve selling counterfeit goods. Instead, they use impersonation, false endorsement, and consumer fraud to build fake trust. But they exploit the exact same signals counterfeiters rely on: familiar faces, recognizable brand aesthetics, and messaging that appears official. These ads direct consumers to fraudulent websites, fake giveaways, scam investment schemes, or stores selling counterfeit products.

Meta’s response signals how seriously platforms now treat this. The Verge reported that in 2024, Meta restarted facial-recognition testing specifically to combat “celeb bait” scam ads by comparing images in suspected ads with the profile photos of public figures. The company prohibits ads that deceptively use public figures to scam people and removes them when detected.

Real cases prove this is happening. Reuters reported that scammers used AI-generated deepfakes of Gisele Bündchen (a supermodel and international celebrity) in Instagram ads tied to fake skincare promotions and giveaways, reportedly generating millions of reais (R$) before authorities intervened. The Financial Times documented a similar scheme using a deepfake of columnist Martin Wolf in Instagram ads promoting a fraudulent WhatsApp investment group.

So, how is this relevant to brand protection? Deepfake ads damage brands the same way counterfeits do. They steal trust signals, divert customers, harm reputation, and confuse consumers about authenticity. A deepfake of your brand’s celebrity endorser directing people to a fake product is functionally identical to a counterfeit using your trademark. The legal category is different but the brand damage is identical.

Neither of the Instagram cases is a trademark counterfeit of a product itself – they’re fake endorsements. But the damage is the same because deepfake ads are being used as the marketing funnel for actual counterfeit products. The deepfake builds trust, directs shoppers to purchase fakes, and the two crimes work in tandem. From a brand protection standpoint, you’re fighting both: the fraudulent endorsement and the counterfeit goods it’s selling. Add in skincare, supplements, or anything ingested, and the safety risk becomes too real.

How brands and platforms are fighting back

Enforcement is escalating. Meta invested in facial-recognition technology to detect deepfake ads. The EU’s May 2025 OLAF operation seized 1.8 million counterfeit fashion items. But speed is the real problem. Livestreams move faster than enforcement tools can catch them. A two-minute live demo where a counterfeiter converts sales is gone before most brand teams even know it happened.

The big change now is that brands that treat social commerce as a separate challenge are getting better results, not just an extension of Amazon. Livestream monitoring requires different tools and faster response times than static listings. Most brands haven’t adapted yet. But those who have are catching counterfeits in real time instead of days later.

The conversation has moved from “is this a problem?” to “how do we actually enforce at this speed?” That’s progress.

Key takeaways

Frequently asked questions

How are counterfeiters using TikTok Shop to sell fakes?

They’re using livestreams, seller videos, and creator affiliate links to sell fast, before anyone can review the content the way a static listing gets reviewed. A May 2026 law enforcement raid found influencer accounts running commission-based counterfeit sales through hours-long livestreams, resulting in the seizure of more than 26,000 items.

What is social commerce counterfeiting?

It’s the sale or promotion of counterfeit goods through social platforms where discovery and checkout happen inside or are driven directly by the content itself, including livestreams, affiliate Reels, and product-tagged posts. It differs from marketplace counterfeiting because the funnel is built into entertainment and creator trust rather than a catalogue page.

How can brands monitor TikTok and Instagram for counterfeits?

Brands need to watch product-led signals (livestreams, seller videos, affiliate content) and ad-led signals (impersonation, fake endorsements) separately, then connect both to a takedown workflow. TikTok’s Intellectual Property Protection Centre and Meta’s Brand Rights Protection tools both give brands a formal channel to report and remove infringing content.

Are deepfake ads a counterfeiting threat?

Deepfake ads are more than a counterfeiting threat. They use AI-generated celebrity likenesses to direct people to fake products, investment scams, or counterfeit stores. The Gisele Bündchen and Martin Wolf cases show it’s happening now. They may not always infringe a trademark directly, but the damage is the same: lost trust and brand harm, and often a counterfeit product waiting to be sold to an unsuspecting buyer.

Is it illegal to buy counterfeit products on TikTok Shop or Instagram?

In the U.S., individual consumers rarely face legal consequences for unknowingly buying a counterfeit item for personal use. The legal risk sits mainly with sellers, importers, and resellers, but buyers still lose out financially and take on real safety risk, especially with beauty or supplement products.

How can I tell if a TikTok Shop seller is legitimate?

Watch for prices well below the brand’s own listed price, product descriptions that avoid the brand name directly, and seller accounts with little history beyond the current livestream. When in doubt, buying directly from the brand’s verified page is safer.

Does TikTok remove sellers who sell counterfeit goods?

TikTok has stated that fake or unauthorized replicas are forbidden on TikTok Shop and are removed once identified, and the platform has built an Intellectual Property Protection Centre for brands to report infringement. Enforcement still depends heavily on brands actively monitoring, since livestream content moves faster than most automated review tools.

Are dupes the same thing as counterfeits?

No. A dupe is a legal lookalike product that doesn’t use another brand’s trademarks or false claims of origin. A counterfeit uses another brand’s actual marks or misleading claims to pass itself off as the real thing, and counterfeit sellers often borrow “dupe” language to make their listings look more legitimate.

Why does Instagram count as a counterfeiting risk if it doesn’t have a dedicated Shop tab anymore?

Instagram still drives commerce through product-tagged Reels, affiliate links, and creator content that routes buyers toward purchase pages or off-platform checkout. Sellers don’t need a built-in storefront when a single Reel can do the same job.

Sources

• The Verge – Meta’s facial-recognition testing against “celeb bait” scam ads
• Reuters – AI deepfake celebrity ads tied to fake skincare promotions in Brazil
• Vogue Business – TikTok Shop’s marketplace structure and IP Protection Centre
• Financial Times – deepfake ad impersonating columnist Martin Wolf
• People – May 2026 TikTok livestream counterfeit warehouse raid
• AP News – European Commission preliminary findings on TikTok and the Digital Services Act