Protecting a brand from bad actors

The challenge

Success attracts bad actors. As a foreign brand starts to win in Mexico, two things reliably follow: counterfeit and unauthorized listings on the marketplaces, and impersonator "official store" websites built to intercept shoppers and take their money. Both bleed sales — but the deeper cost is trust. A customer who receives a fake, or pays a scam site and gets nothing, blames the brand. Here are two situations we handled for brands we run.

Marketplace counterfeits — removed

A US wellness brand we run found unauthorized and counterfeit listings undercutting its presence on Mercado Libre — competing for the buy box, eroding price integrity, and putting unverified product into customers' hands. We documented the infringing listings, filed through the marketplace's brand-protection channels (and formal denuncias where warranted), and had them taken down — then kept monitoring so they stay down.

An impersonator site — being shut down

A US specialty-coffee brand we run was targeted by a copycat website built to impersonate its official Mexican store — designed to capture shoppers searching for the brand and take payment for product that never ships. Public reports of defrauded shoppers appeared online. We identified the impersonator, documented the fraud, and are actively pursuing its takedown through the domain registrar's and hosting provider's abuse channels and platform reports — while making sure real demand reaches the brand's legitimate, compliant storefront.

Specific listing counts, dates, and case details are shared on the call.

Why it matters

Counterfeits and impersonators don't just cost sales — they erode trust in the brand itself. With five separate vendors, brand protection is exactly the kind of thing that falls through the cracks: the distributor watches its listings, the agency watches its ads, and no one is watching the brand as a whole. As the single partner running the entire operation, we watch the brand in-market and act when something appears. It's part of running your Mexico — not an add-on you have to remember to buy.

Anonymized at the brands' request. Enforcement outcomes depend on the platform, registrar, and jurisdiction and are not guaranteed; timelines vary case by case.