In this era, we all notice that technology is hip, hot and happening. Companies are using technology to build their businesses. The use of technology seems to be the key to success. That is not weird; the use of it saves a lot of time and costs for companies. Although you might find some great advantages by the use of technology, unfortunately the use of it also knows its downsides for companies. Did you hear about online piracy before? This is the act of illegally copying products or even brand names and offering these products for less or free. The act of this results in less customers and less revenue for the brand itself…
History
In the early years, online piracy already was a thing, only on a whole other level. That is, in the past, movies were illegally copied, and customers were illegally downloading these via pirate’s bays. Nowadays, the online pirates go beyond movies and copy everything that is possible, posting it on every platform that is possible. We would like to give you some insights about where online pirates are practicing their illegal activities and where they offer illegal products. We bet that you never thought about some of the platforms before as places where illegal happenings occur….
4 important platforms
Marketplaces – Online pirates are putting everything on the line to make sure that people are receiving products for less money or even for free. What is a better way to forward illegal products than on online marketplaces? For example, eBay; accessible for everyone thus also for those pirates!
Social media – Those pirate bastards are also using social media to offer illegally copied products. How? They sneaky place links towards sites with the products in tweets, Facebook messages and Instagram stories. Maybe you remember the Facebook posts with RayBan sunglasses…
Sites – The pirates offer those products on websites. To make sure that customers are finding these websites, they make sure that their Google results are very high. Think of it, you most probably also only analyze the first three websites Google offers you when looking for something on the internet? Chances are big that you click on one of those; maybe it is an illegal website!
Forums – Another great way where pirates can do their thing, is on online forums. Forums are a platform where people can have an online conversation, and just hop on in the thread about a specific subject. If you can hop on the subject, pirates are also able to do this. And post links to illegal products….
What now?
Luckily, there are a lot of companies specialized in tracking down those pirates. Such as Onsist, who makes sure that they are tracking all of these platforms 24/7. If you are looking for a way to reduce risk for your own company and products, make sure you engage with such a company!