Protecting Your Brand: How to Remove Counterfeits from X (Formerly Twitter)

X (formerly Twitter) is one of the most popular social media platforms for businesses and individuals, with around 335 million monthly active users worldwide. Allowing brands to connect with their consumers and establish a recognizable online presence, it is a crucial platform to reach audiences on a global scale.  

Unfortunately, this global reach and accessibility to a large audience also attracts bad actors looking to exploit the popularity and features of social media platforms. This has led to social channels being widely targeted and causing a huge counterfeiter problem. For X/ Twitter, this has become especially prevalent following Elon Musk’s takeover and introduction of ‘X Premium/ Twitter Blue’.   

This feature means that any user can opt into a paid subscription and immediately receive a blue checkmark – a badge that was previously associated with “legacy” verified accounts, resulting in countless high-profile cases of impersonation involving global brands.  

In this guide, we will:  

• Share the common scams on X/ Twitter you need to be aware of
• Provide steps on how to manually remove counterfeits and infringing content from the platform 
• Showcase how Corsearch can help you automate this process and tackle counterfeits at scale

Common scams on X/ Twitter 

There are various infringement scams to be on the lookout for on X/ Twitter. Here are some of the most common types of scams observed on the platform: 

Fake/ impersonation accounts  

Scammers create fake accounts that closely mimic established brands. These accounts may use similar usernames, logos, and content to deceive users into believing they are interacting with the legitimate brand. The blue checkmark can also be purchased, which can mislead customers into believing the account is genuine and verified.   

The intention is often to spread misinformation and harm a brand’s reputation. However, bad actors can also create fake accounts with the intention of gaining sensitive data or login details, which is often done through creating fake support or customer care pages, where consumers are prompted to share personal information in order to get the support they require. 

Phishing and spoofing 

Scammers may use X/ Twitter to contact consumers via posts (tweets) or direct messages and lead them to fake websites designed to imitate official brand pages or collect sensitive information.  

This could lead to identity theft, unauthorized access to accounts, and potential financial loss for consumers. 

Selling counterfeit goods 

Bad actors may use fake accounts to promote and sell fake products, often imitating genuine brands or offering counterfeit merchandise. 

These scams can mislead consumers into purchasing fake goods, causing financial losses and damaging the genuine brand’s reputation. 

False promotions and giveaways 

Fraudulent accounts often pose as influencers and host promotions or giveaways while claiming to be affiliated with a well-known brand.  

These schemes aim to collect user data, including email addresses and personal details, for future exploitation or resale.  

Step-by-step guide to removing counterfeits from X/ Twitter manually

Step 1. Identify the type of infringement 

X/ Twitter prohibits users from violating others’ intellectual property rights, and has policies in place against counterfeit infringement, trademark infringement, copyright infringement and impersonation. 

Trademark infringement 

Unauthorized use of your brand name, logo, or other trademarked elements. 

Copyright infringement 

Unauthorized use of your original creative works, such as images, videos, or written content. 

Impersonation 

Fake accounts pretending to be your company/ brand, or – in some cases – individuals working at your company. 

Phishing and spoofing 

Attempts to trick users into providing sensitive information or engaging in harmful activities. 

Counterfeit goods 

Listings or profiles promoting the sale of fake or counterfeit products. 

False promotions and giveaways 

Unauthorized schemes claiming to offer promotions or giveaways associated with your brand. 

Step 2. Report the infringement  

X/ Twitter has a comprehensive help center detailing its platform use guidelines and the steps to take in the event of an infringement.  

Reporting counterfeits 

X / Twitter states the selling or promoting counterfeit goods on the platform is a violation of its counterfeit policy. Follow these steps to report an account selling or promoting counterfeit goods: 

• File a report through this support form 
• Provide your contact information 
• Give clear details of how the reported content violates X/ Twitter’s counterfeit policy 
• Share the details of the company, brand, or organization that holds the trademark 
• Provide the exact registered mark and details of its registration 
• Select four checkboxes to declare your authorization to enforce (either as the trademark owner or an authorized agent) 

Reporting copyright infringement  

Before submitting a copyright complaint, consider whether the content could be considered fair use. If you have considered fair use, and want to move forward with a copyright complaint, follow these steps: 

• File a report through this support form 
• Provide your contact information 
• Select X/ Twitter as the platform where the infringing material appears (Vine and Periscope are both discontinued) 
• Declare the type of copyrighted work and provide a detailed description of the original work 
• Provide a URL to the infringing material or give clear details of how the reported content violates X/ Twitter’s copyright policy 
• Select three checkboxes to declare your authorization to enforce 
• Sign the report using your full name as an electronic signature 

Reporting other forms of trademark infringement 

X/ Twitter states that using another’s trademark in a way that may mislead or confuse people about your affiliation may be a violation of their trademark policy. To report trademark infringement, you need to: 

• File a report through this support form 
• Provide your contact information 
• Select the platform where the infringement is happening and the username of who you are reporting and why 
• Provide information about the company, brand, or organization that holds the trademark and details of the registered mark 
• Select three checkboxes to declare your authorization to enforce 

Reporting impersonation accounts 

X/ Twitter has a misleading and deceptive identities policy which prohibits using false profile information to impersonate or deceive others. There are two things you can do to report an impersonation account. Firstly, you can flag it directly from the account’s profile. Alternatively, you can follow these steps: 

• File a report through this support form 
• Provide your contact information 
• Provide information about the company, brand, or organization being impersonated 
• Share details of the fake account with give clear details of how they are impersonating your company, brand, or organization 
• Select two checkboxes to declare your authorization to enforce 

Reporting financial scams 

Scam tactics, phishing, or other fraudulent or deceptive methods violate X/ Twitter’s financial scam policy. To report violations of this policy, you need to be logged in to complete the following steps: 

• Select ‘report post’ from the downwards arrow icon 
• Select ‘it’s suspicious or spam’ 
• Select the option that best represents how the post is suspicious or spreading spam 
• Submit your report 

Step 3. Wait for X/ Twitter’s response 

X/ Twitter have a range of enforcement options that are determined by several factors, including: 

• the behavior is directed at an individual, group, or protected category of people; 
• the report has been filed by the target of the abuse or a bystander; 

• the user has a history of violating their policies; 
• the severity of the violation; 
• the content may be a topic of legitimate public interest. 

Some of the enforcement actions they may take include: 

Post-level enforcement 

This could include limiting post visibility, labeling a post to provide context and additional information to users or removing a post altogether. 

Direct Message-level enforcement 

This could include stopping the violator from sending messages to the account who reported them or in a group Direct Message conversation, the violating Direct Message will be placed behind a notice so no one else in the group can see it again 

Account-level enforcement 

This could include suspending an account, placing an account in read-only mode, where users can only read their timelines and send Direct Messages to their followers, or requiring verifying account ownership, where an account owner needs to verify ownership with a phone number or email address. 

Actions against non-violating content include:  

• Placing forms of sensitive media, like adult content or graphic violence behind a notice. 
• Restricting views of specific forms of sensitive media, such as adult content, for viewers who are under 18 or viewers who do not include a birth date on their profile.  
• Withholding access to certain content in a particular country if they have received a valid and properly scoped request from an authorized entity in that country. 

X/ Twitter typically acknowledges properly submitted reports within 24 hours, and reports are typically resolved within a few days. It’s worth noting resolution times vary and could take 30 days to reach resolution. 

What can you do to protect your brand on X/ Twitter? 

There are several proactive measures you can take to help safeguard your brand. 

Register your trademarks 

Ensure your brand name, logo, and other key elements are registered trademarks. This provides legal protection and strengthens your ability to enforce your rights. 

Implement social media guidelines 

Develop and communicate clear guidelines for the use of your brand on X/ Twitter. Establish rules for employees and partners to maintain a consistent and positive brand image and ensure they are aware of potential brand risks. 

Monitor your brand 

Regularly monitor X/ Twitter for mentions of your brand, product names, and associated keywords. Set up alerts to receive notifications when your brand is mentioned and monitor hashtags you use often.   

Lookout for fake support accounts 

Many scams happen by impersonators pretending to be a customer support or care page for your brand. Regularly searching for your brand name along with ‘customer support’, ‘customer service’ or ‘customer care’ helps you keep track of this.  

Utilize AI-powered brand protection solutions  

Consider brand protection solutions that leverage the hybrid intelligence of AI and human experts, to greatly enhance your ability to detect and combat infringements. 

Tackle counterfeits at scale by leveraging Corsearch’s AI-powered technology and expertise 

1. Detect infringement 

Utilize Corsearch’s advanced detection capabilities to collect comprehensive data, enabling you to automatically pinpoint and monitor potential threats. Our keyword search framework allows for precise parameter adjustments, staying ahead of evolving risks and infringements. Additionally, employ our sophisticated image search technology to track the usage of your copyrighted images and instances of repeated counterfeit image use. 

2. Analyze and prioritize threats 

Once we’ve detected infringements, we leverage machine learning and image matching technology to assign risk scores and prioritize according to your strategy. This enables you to concentrate on the threats most damaging to your brand and most visible to your consumers. 

3. Enforce and remove threats 

Improve team efficiency and cost-effectiveness through automated enforcement and takedown procedures, meticulously reviewed by human experts. Capitalize on Corsearch’s comprehensive understanding of platform policies and procedures for effective enforcement at scale. By swiftly removing all an account’s infringing posts in one swoop, you give the owner minimal opportunity to respond. 

4. Track impact 

Focus on brand-related data, changes, and notable trends, streamlining reporting and decision-making with Corsearch’s advanced analytics dashboards. Elevate reporting and analytics from operational metrics to strategic insights, empowering teams to demonstrate the impact of their efforts through integrated data storytelling tools. 

Learn more about our brand protection solutions. 

Next steps 

We can help you swiftly remove counterfeits and other threats found on X/ Twitter, saving your team precious time and money. Speak with one of our experts to learn how our solutions can protect your brand across all social media platforms. 

Learn how to protect your brand on marketplaces:

• Stop Counterfeits on Facebook Marketplace 
• Stop Counterfeits on Amazon 
• Stop Counterfeits on eBay 
• Stop Counterfeits on Alibaba 

Learn how to protect consumers from the dangers of: 

• Counterfeit Luxury Products 
• Counterfeit Cosmetics 
• Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals 
• Counterfeit Car Parts 
• Counterfeit Alcohol 

Learn how to remove counterfeits from marketplaces: 

• How to Remove Counterfeits from Amazon 
• How to Remove Counterfeits from eBay 
• How to Remove Counterfeits from Alibaba 
• How to Remove Counterfeits from Facebook