Shein and Temu Counterfeit Investigations

Copies of your product are selling on Shein and Temu, shipped direct from a factory that has never heard of your brand. We identify the supplier behind the listing, trace the shipment, and build the customs route that stops the goods at the port.

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Shein and Temu ship direct from the factory, and that changes the evidence

On most marketplaces a counterfeit passes through a domestic seller who holds stock. On Shein and Temu the parcel usually leaves a Chinese factory or warehouse and arrives at your customer as a single small import. There is no domestic warehouse to raid and often no United States company to sue. The evidence that matters is the shipment itself, which is why these cases are built around test buys and customs.

That also makes them winnable in a way brands do not expect. A parcel that crosses the border leaves a record counsel can act on.

A Temu or Shein storefront is a supplier code, not a company

Supplier identity

The name on the listing is frequently a platform assigned code. We work the listing, the packaging, the shipping label and the returns address back to the operating entity behind it.

Shipment records

The parcel carries a carrier record, a consignor, a declared value and a description. Those records tie the goods to a shipper and put a factory on the map.

The same supplier elsewhere

A factory selling on Temu is usually selling the same item on other platforms under other names. We connect those listings so the scale of the operation is documented.

Test buys from Shein and Temu arrive as import evidence

Purchase made by a licensed investigator through a neutral account
Outer packaging, labels and customs declaration preserved intact
Parcel photographed and sealed on receipt
Chain of custody logged from seller to counsel
Goods examined against your authentication guide
Sworn findings written for a filing or a customs referral

The examination standard is the one set out on our covert test buy and product authentication page. On these matters the packaging is evidence, so nothing is opened before it is photographed and logged.

A Shein or Temu seller traces back to a factory, and the parcel is what gets you there

The operator named

We identify the company operating the storefront, its registration where one exists, and the people behind it, so counsel has a party rather than a handle.

The production point located

We work from the goods and the shipping record toward the production or consolidation point, which is where enforcement stops being a game of removing listings.

The reachable party identified

Some suppliers have a United States importer, agent or bank relationship. Where one exists, we find it, because that is usually the party a court can actually reach.

Customs recordation turns a Shein and Temu problem into a port problem

ROUTE 01

Record the mark

A trademark registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office can be recorded with Customs and Border Protection. Recordation is what lets officers act on your behalf at the border.

ROUTE 02

Give officers something to match

We build the product identification material officers use to tell your goods from the copy, drawn from the examined test buy rather than from a brochure.

ROUTE 03

Name the shipper and the route

We document the consignor, the carrier and the entry pattern, so the referral points at specific shipments instead of a general complaint.

ROUTE 04

Package the referral

Findings are assembled as a referral package for Customs and Border Protection and, where the volume justifies it, for federal law enforcement.

We are investigators, not lawyers or customs brokers. We build the evidence and the referral, and your counsel files it.

The Shein and Temu trail runs from the parcel outward

STEP 01

Scope

We confirm the products, the marks, the listings you already know about and what counsel needs at the end.

STEP 02

Sweep

We map the listings copying your product across Shein and Temu, and the same goods on the wholesale platforms feeding them.

STEP 03

Buy

We make test buys, preserve the import paperwork, and examine the goods against your standard.

STEP 04

Trace

We work the shipment and the storefront back toward the supplier and the production point.

STEP 05

Deliver

Counsel receives the findings, the evidence set, the prepared platform reports and the customs referral package.

A recorded trademark goes stale unless somebody keeps the Shein and Temu file current

Standing watch on Shein and Temu

Continuous coverage for new listings copying your product, including the wholesale platforms where the same factory offers it first, with test buys run as new suppliers appear.

Customs file kept current

Product identification material, shipper names and entry patterns updated as they change, so the recorded mark stays useful to officers instead of going stale in a drawer.

Shein and Temu raise questions the domestic marketplaces never do

Can anything actually be done about a counterfeit on Shein or Temu?
Yes. Reporting removes the listing. Beyond that, a test buy preserved as import evidence, a supplier identified, and a recorded trademark backed by a customs referral give you a route that reaches the goods at the border rather than one listing at a time.
Can you identify the factory behind a Temu listing?
Often, yes. We work from the goods, the packaging, the shipping record and the storefront toward the operating company and the production or consolidation point. Where the trail stops short of the factory floor we say so plainly and report what the evidence supports.
What is customs recordation and does my brand qualify?
A trademark registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office can be recorded with Customs and Border Protection, which lets officers detain and seize infringing imports. Your counsel files the recordation. We build the product identification material and the shipment evidence that make it work.
Is suing a Chinese supplier realistic?
Sometimes. Many brands pursue a Schedule A action against a group of storefronts, and that depends on identifying the operators and freezing the payment accounts. Where a United States importer, agent or bank relationship exists, we find it, because that is usually the reachable party.
Will the evidence survive in court?
Yes. Purchases are made by a licensed investigator, the parcel is photographed and sealed on receipt, and chain of custody is logged from the seller to your counsel. Findings are delivered as declarations, sworn where counsel needs it.
How is a Shein and Temu 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 the number of listings, the number of test buys, and whether the customs route is part of the work. Retainers are paid in full before work begins.
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Customs officers and courts want a named examiner behind the Shein and Temu file

Matt Aubin, CDFE, FBCI

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

Every Shein and Temu 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

A Shein or Temu counterfeit is an import problem before it is a listing problem

RELATED INVESTIGATIONS
Counterfeit Product Investigations  ·  Covert Test Buy & Product Authentication  ·  Cyber-Enabled Cargo Theft  ·  Brand Protection Investigations  ·  Counterfeit vs Gray Market

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.