STATE OF BRAND COUNTERFEITING · 2026 EDITION

Where they hide.
What they steal.
How fast we close.

SPAN's first annual report — drawn entirely from anonymized live customer data across India, Bangladesh, UAE, Singapore and Nepal. Free to read, no email gate.

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HEADLINE NUMBERS · ALL-TIME · ANONYMIZED
147
active cases
₹38.4 Cr
exposure mitigated
73%
of clusters in tier-2 cities
9 days
median resolution
KEY FINDINGS

The shape of counterfeit operations in 2026.

01
Tier-2 cities dominate
73% of counterfeit clusters mapped in 2026 sit outside India's top-8 metros. Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi and Indore lead. Enforcement still lives in metros.
02
Telegram replaced WhatsApp
63% of network-type signals now route via Telegram channels. Bots auto-broker between source and reseller — faster than the old WhatsApp model.
03
Pharma is the hardest hit
Pharma category has 2.4× more critical-severity signals than next-highest (FMCG). Patient-safety implications make it the #1 priority for joint enforcement.
04
Price anomalies are the leading indicator
78% of cluster discoveries start with a pricing anomaly signal. >35% below MRP across 5+ sellers is the threshold that justifies a field dispatch.
05
Cross-border BD–IN is rising
Border interdictions at Petrapole and Benapole crossings up 47% YoY. Counterfeit pharma flows IN→BD, fake auto parts BD→IN.
06
Chain of custody is the difference
In SPAN-handled cases, 92% of evidence packets were court-admitted on first hearing. Industry baseline: 47%.
METHODOLOGY

Built on real signals, never speculation.

Every figure in this report is derived from live SPAN customer telemetry — anonymized, aggregated, and category-coded. Individual brand names, sellers, and identifiable counterfeiters are excluded. We re-publish the data quarterly for academic and policy research access.

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