PNP probe on online counterfeit sellers, scammers sought
MANILA, Philippines — A consumer advocacy group has urged the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) to investigate the prevalent sale of counterfeit goods on e-commerce sites and related online scams, citing the risks they pose on consumers.
In a letter dated September 29, 2026, Malayang Konsyumer asked PNP-ACG Major Director Police General Andre Dizon to “open an investigation into the sellers, accounts, and listings responsible for the sustained sale of counterfeit goods, and the online scams that accompany them, on e-commerce platforms operating in the country.”
Among items sold are fake or falsely branded cosmetics and skincare products, pharmaceuticals and health supplements, electronics and gadgets, apparel, footwear, accessories, fragrances, children’s products, personal care and hygiene items, household adhesive products, and optical media. These counterfeits, known to have sub-par quality, pose hazards to the health and safety of consumers.
The group noted that while e-commerce platforms have been actively implementing voluntary takedowns — with Lazada reporting a proactive takedown rate of 85.5% and Shopee reporting 93.6% — the sale of counterfeit goods online remains rampant. Proof of this is the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights’ seizure of P18.64 billion worth of counterfeit goods.
It also noted that the Department of Trade and Industry’s E-Commerce Bureau issued only 171 Takedown Orders and 67 Compliance Orders from June to December 2025 — a number that “indicates that administrative remedies alone are not keeping pace with the scale of the problem.”
"Self-regulation and voluntary takedowns on e-commerce platforms are vital, but they are not enough. The individuals and syndicates operating behind these digital storefronts continue to hide behind online anonymity, endangering Filipino consumers with unregulated and hazardous products," said Mark Jansen Magsano, convenor of Malayang Konsyumer.
The group underscored that the online distribution of fake goods is a structured cyber-enabled commercial crime falling within the twin core competencies of the PNP-ACG: online scams, where consumers are induced to pay for fake or unsafe goods through false pretenses, and intellectual property crime.
Malayang Konsyumer explained that marketing counterfeit items as genuine constitutes estafa and violates the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and the Intellectual Property Code.
The group urged the PNP-ACG to chase individuals and groups behind the racket through the full enforcement of the anti-cybercrime law, including provisions that empower authorities to conduct cyber patrols and entrapment operations, and apply for specialized warrants to seize relevant computer data.
It said the PNP should treat the matter as urgent as impersonation scams that it regularly warns against in its public advisories.
“We respectfully urge the PNP-ACG to treat the pattern described in this letter with the same urgency it has brought to other online scams, and to pursue the identification, investigation, and eventual prosecution — for both estafa and intellectual property crime — of the individuals and syndicates operating behind these listings, rather than allowing the matter to rest on the platforms' voluntary takedown efforts and the E-Commerce Bureau's administrative orders alone,” said Magsano in the letter.
Earlier, Malayang Konsyumer also urged both the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and the National Bureau of Investigation to crack down against counterfeit goods. (Contributed story)
- Latest
- Trending
