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How to spot a fake
HP is extending its supplies auditing programme to end users as part of
its on-going war against counterfeiting
Leading printer supplier HP is warning
consumers to beware of counterfeit
supplies sold in re-used or fake HP
packaging, as its anti-piracy strategy
for the channel forces counterfeiters
to change their tactics and directly
target end users.
Counterfeit supplies packaged and
sold as HP originals are to be avoided
for many reasons: quality is poor – HP’s
Anti-Counterfeiting (ACF) Marketing
Programme Manager for EMEA Tina Rose
says HP has found cartridges filled with
sand and dust instead of toner; you have
no redress if something goes wrong, as
counterfeiters target a region and quickly
move on; and money ends up in the
hands of criminal gangs.
“In order to run a successful
counterfeit operation, you need
manpower, warehouses, trucks and
equipment, so it’s an attractive activity for
criminal organisations. It’s high profit and
low risk. You can make 500% profit on a
toner cartridge and if you get caught you
just get a slap on the wrist,” said Rose.
Over the last few years, HP has
implemented a number of end user and
channel strategies to fight counterfeiting
based on Prevention and Education to
reduce demand for counterfeit supplies;
Product and Packaging to make HP
products more difficult to fake; and
Investigations and Enforcement to
identify and disrupt manufacturing and
distribution networks.
Prevention and Education
HP’s education programme trains
customs and police officers how to spot
fakes and conducts audits of channel
partners. In EMEA in the last financial
year to October 2012, HP carried out
600 partner audits to verify that all
consumables in stock were genuine –
according to HP, 85% of partners who
went through the process said it helped
increase sales by building trust with
customers.
Rose says the success of this
programme has forced counterfeiters
to change their distribution strategy.
“Because of our audit programme, the
opportunity to sell to partners has
diminished. So counterfeiters are now
selling direct to banks, hospitals and
other large organisations. They set up
a fake company and bid for contracts.
Often the rule with tenders is to accept
the lowest bid and counterfeiters can
always undercut other bidders. So we
now offer free on-site inspections to
customers who suspect they have bought
counterfeit products." She added that HP
plans to extend this programme in 2013.
Other anti-piracy initiatives include
an e-learning module to explain how to
spot fakes and the setting up of an email
address ([email protected]) and website
(www.hp.com/go/anticounterfeit) where
people can report counterfeit supplies.
Product & Packaging
HP is in a permanent battle to keep one
step ahead by constantly changing and
developing the security labels on its
packaging. The position of the label (it
is only ever half on and half off the tear
strip); the serial number (every one is
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unique); and bi-directional holograms are
all key indicators of whether a cartridge
is genuine or not.
In September 2011, HP added a
QR code that can be scanned with
a smartphone to verify a cartridge’s
authenticity. Alternatively, supplies can
be checked by entering the serial number
at www.hp.com/go/ok. The final check –
built into new printers and available as a
download for older devices – is software
that validates new cartridges.
HP Security Label
A Genuine
HP LaserJet
Cartridge
Tina Rose, Anti-Counterfeiting (ACF)
Marketing Programme Manager for
EMEA, HP
Counterfeit HP printing supplies seized in Germany
Investigations and Enforcement
The third element of HP’s strategy is
to keep pirates on the run by working
with enforcement agencies to seize
counterfeit supplies. In the 12 months
to October 2012, HP seized more than
1.4 million counterfeit products in EMEA
alone, including ink and toner cartridges,
packaging and sheets of labels.
The activities of HP and its allies in
the fight against piracy are significant,
but it is important not to become
complacent. For, as Rose points out, every
success they have is quickly countered.
“Right now counterfeiters are
struggling to copy changes to security
labels and, as a result, they are starting
to re-use HP boxes,” she explained. “They
are saying to people, ‘We will buy your
empty HP boxes from you but only if
you open the box from the bottom’ as
that keeps the security label intact. So
when you buy supplies make sure the
box is not damaged in any way and look
out for signs of glue spreading out of the
joins.”
Modern technology is important in
the fight against fakes, but so too is old-
fashioned intuition and watchfulness.
You have been warned.
www.hp.com/go/anticounterfeit
HP’s education
programme
trains customs
and police
officers how to
spot fakes...
01732 759725