TikTok Shop Counterfeit Investigations

Counterfeit versions of your product are selling on TikTok Shop, inside live streams and through affiliate creators. We identify who runs each shop, buy the goods under chain of custody, and deliver findings your counsel can file.

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A TikTok Shop takedown removes the listing and leaves the counterfeiter in business

TikTok Shop will pull a listing you report. It will not tell you who the seller is, where the goods were made, or how many other shops the same operator runs. The shop reopens under a new name and your product is back on sale by the weekend. An investigation answers the question a takedown never touches, which is who is behind it.

We work for the rights holder and for the lawyer who represents the brand. If your own TikTok Shop was suspended over someone else's counterfeit complaint, that is a different matter with a different buyer, and we handle it separately.

Counterfeit sales on TikTok Shop happen in live video, not on a listing page

Live stream selling

A fake sold during a live stream leaves nothing behind once the stream ends. We capture the stream, the seller handle, the product link and the checkout while it is still running, with timestamps.

Affiliate creators

Creators earn a commission on every unit they push. We identify the creator, the shop behind the affiliate link, and the relationship between the two, so counsel knows who is selling and who is promoting.

Dupe and unbranded marketing

Sellers advertise your product as a dupe, as unbranded, or as same factory. We document the claim, the goods and the seller, so counsel can decide whether it is counterfeiting or false advertising.

A test buy is the proof TikTok Shop and a court both accept

Licensed investigator buys through a neutral account
Package 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 notice
TikTok Shop rights holder report prepared with the evidence attached

The examination standard is the same one described on our covert test buy and product authentication page. Counsel receives the item and the record together.

Behind every counterfeit TikTok Shop storefront there is a person, and we name them

The operator named

A shop name is not a defendant. We identify the person or company behind the storefront, the business registration where one exists, and the payment and shipping details that tie the account to a real party.

Linked shops connected

A banned seller reopens within days. We link the new shop to the old one through shipping, imagery, payment and account patterns, so enforcement follows the operator instead of chasing handles.

Shipping origin traced

We trace where the goods physically come from, including the domestic reshipper or the overseas factory, which is the difference between removing a seller and reaching a source.

Identification on TikTok Shop follows the purchase, because the goods point at the shipper

STEP 01

Scope

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

STEP 02

Sweep

We map every shop, live stream and affiliate link moving the product, on TikTok Shop and on the other marketplaces the same sellers use.

STEP 03

Buy

We make test buys from the sellers that matter, under chain of custody, and examine the goods against your standard.

STEP 04

Identify

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

STEP 05

Deliver

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

A licensed investigator makes the identification call and signs the finding.

TikTok Shop enforcement without a standing watch is a race you restart every month

Standing watch on TikTok Shop

Continuous coverage of TikTok Shop for new shops, new streams and new affiliate links moving your product, with the evidence captured as it appears rather than after the stream is gone.

On call for the next shop

Test buys and identification work held on retainer, so the evidence is captured while the seller is still trading and the account is still live.

Brand counsel open a TikTok Shop matter with these questions

Can you find out who is behind a TikTok Shop selling fakes of my product?
Yes. We identify the person or company operating the shop, the shipping origin, and the other shops the same operator runs on TikTok Shop and elsewhere. A storefront handle is not a defendant, and our findings are written so your counsel can name one.
Will reporting the listing to TikTok Shop be enough?
Reporting usually removes the listing, and you should report it. It does not identify the seller, stop the next shop, or reach the source of the goods. We prepare the rights holder report with the evidence attached and, at the same time, build the identification and test buy record a takedown never produces.
How do you capture evidence of a counterfeit sold in a live stream?
We record the stream with timestamps, capture the seller handle, the product link and the checkout, and buy while the stream is running. The package is sealed on receipt under chain of custody. That record survives the end of the stream and the deletion of the video.
The seller keeps reopening under new names. Does that end?
It ends when the person is identified. We link shops to each other through shipping, imagery, payment and account patterns, so enforcement follows the operator rather than the handle. Once counsel can name the person, the reopening cycle becomes a legal problem for them instead of a treadmill for you.
Can your TikTok Shop findings be used in court or in a customs referral?
Yes. Findings are delivered as declarations by a licensed investigator, sworn where counsel needs it, with the chain of custody record and the examined goods. Counsel uses them in demand letters, John Doe complaints, platform appeals and United States Customs and Border Protection referrals.
How is a TikTok Shop 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 shops, the number of test buys, and what counsel needs at the end. Retainers are paid in full before work begins.
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Naming a TikTok Shop operator is a call somebody has to defend under oath

Matt Aubin, CDFE, FBCI

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

Every TikTok Shop 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  ·  Brand Protection Investigations  ·  Unmask the Anonymous Defendant  ·  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.