StockX, Poshmark, Mercari, Whatnot and Depop Counterfeit Investigations

Fakes of your product are moving through the resale market, where every listing is described as pre owned and every seller claims a receipt. We identify the sellers, buy and examine the goods, and deliver findings your counsel can file.

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Authentication at StockX and Poshmark decides one item and never asks who sent it

Marketplace authentication is built to decide one question about one item, which is whether this unit passes. It is not built to work out that the same person has shipped hundreds of them, or to find out who that person is. When a fake clears the checkpoint, the marketplace refunds the buyer and the seller keeps trading.

That gap is the case. A brand needs the seller identified, the volume documented and the supply traced, and no resale platform produces any of that for you.

Resale counterfeits arrive by a different route on every marketplace

StockX and sneaker resale

High volume, price driven, and increasingly supplied by factories producing near exact copies. We document the seller, the volume and the batch rather than arguing one pair at a time.

Poshmark and Depop luxury

Fakes sold as vintage, as authenticated elsewhere, or as a gift from a relative. The story changes and the supply does not, so we follow the supply.

Whatnot and Mercari collectibles

Trading cards, graded slabs, sealed product and memorabilia, where a counterfeit certificate or a resealed box is the actual fraud.

Whatnot live auctions leave no listing once the stream ends

A live auction is the hardest resale evidence to preserve and the easiest place to sell a fake. The item is shown for seconds, the claim is spoken rather than written, and the stream disappears. We capture the broadcast, the spoken description, the bid and the checkout while the auction is running, and we buy on the stream so the goods and the claim arrive together.

Graded card and sneaker counterfeits are settled with the item in hand

Purchase by a licensed investigator through a neutral account
Item photographed and sealed on receipt
Chain of custody logged from seller to counsel
Examination against your authentication guide
Counterfeit certificates, labels and packaging documented
Sworn findings written for a filing or a notice

Our standard is set out on the covert test buy and product authentication page. Where a grading slab or a certificate is part of the fraud, the slab and the certificate are treated as evidence in their own right.

The resale seller behind the StockX or Mercari account can be identified

The seller named

We identify the person or company behind the account, including the business registration where one exists and the shipping origin the goods actually come from.

The accounts connected

One operator running many handles across several resale marketplaces is the normal shape of this problem. We connect them through shipping, imagery, payment and behavior.

The supply traced

We work back from the goods toward the wholesaler, the importer or the factory, because removing a reseller without touching the supply just moves the inventory.

Resale work starts with every marketplace the seller uses, then narrows to the goods

FIRST

Sweep every marketplace

We map the sellers moving your product across StockX, Poshmark, Mercari, Whatnot and Depop, including the live auction channels, before deciding which ones matter.

SECOND

Buy the goods

We make test buys from the sellers worth pursuing, under chain of custody, and examine what arrives against your standard.

THIRD

Name the operator

We identify who is behind each account and connect the accounts that share an operator, a shipper or a payment path.

FOURTH

Hand it to counsel

Counsel receives the findings, the evidence set, the prepared platform reports and a recommendation on the next move.

A banned resale seller reappears under a new handle, so coverage has to be continuous

Standing watch across the resale marketplaces

Continuous coverage of StockX, Poshmark, Mercari, Whatnot and Depop for new accounts moving your product, with evidence captured as sellers appear.

On call for the live auction

Auction capture and test buys held on retainer, because a stream that has ended cannot be recovered after the fact.

Resale brands press hardest on authentication and identification

Does marketplace authentication not already handle counterfeits?
It handles the individual unit, sometimes. It does not identify the seller, document the volume, or trace the supply, and a rejected item is usually just returned to the seller to sell again elsewhere. Those are the gaps a brand investigation fills.
Can you identify a Poshmark or Mercari seller who is using a fake name?
Yes. We identify the person or company behind the account through the goods, the shipping origin, the payment path and the pattern of accounts they operate. A handle is not a defendant, and our findings are written so counsel can name one.
How do you capture evidence from a Whatnot live auction?
We record the broadcast with timestamps, capture the spoken claim, the item shown, the bid and the checkout, and buy during the stream. The item is sealed on receipt under chain of custody, so the goods and the recorded claim arrive as one exhibit.
We make trading cards. Can you work counterfeit slabs and resealed product?
Yes. We buy the item, preserve the slab, the label and the packaging intact, and examine all of it against your standard. Where a certificate or a grading label is itself counterfeit, that is documented as a separate finding.
Can your findings support a Schedule A or a John Doe action?
Yes. Findings are delivered as declarations by a licensed investigator, sworn where counsel needs it, with chain of custody and the examined goods. Counsel uses them for demand letters, platform escalation, John Doe complaints and seller level enforcement.
How is a resale marketplace counterfeit investigation priced?
Every matter is scoped on a confidential call, and scope and fee are quoted in writing after that call. The scope depends on how many marketplaces and sellers are in play and how many test buys the evidence needs. Retainers are paid in full before work begins.
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The examiner who authenticated the item is the person a resale dispute comes back to

Matt Aubin, CDFE, FBCI

Managing Partner, E3 Legacy Intel · Southern Recon Agency, LLC, Florida agency license A-1400197

Every resale marketplace matter is worked under a named, licensed examiner. Matt Aubin brings seventeen years in cybercrime and open source intelligence. He is a Certified Digital Forensics Examiner (CDFE), a Florida Board Certified Investigator (FBCI), and a Certified AI Agent Developer. He has investigated cases jointly with the FBI, the SEC, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Marshals.

His work has been featured on ABC News, Spectrum News, and The Daily Beast, and in a television pilot for Netflix and MAC Pictures as a cybercrime expert. He keynotes nationally and serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Association of Licensed Investigators (FALI). The firm is nationwide, and the work is run from Florida. About Matt Aubin

RELATED INVESTIGATIONS
Counterfeit Product Investigations  ·  Covert Test Buy & Product Authentication  ·  Organized Retail Crime Investigations  ·  Brand Protection Investigations  ·  Unmask the Anonymous Defendant

Call (877) 732-6648 or use the contact form to arrange a confidential call. Scope and fee are quoted in writing after a confidential call.

Tell us what happened

A licensed examiner reads every inquiry. You get a written, flat fee quote before any work starts. Or call (877) 732-6648.