Counterfeit products that are sold on Chinese e-commerce platforms like Alibaba or Tmall are a common problem. But now counterfeiters are also using closed WeChat groups to sell their fakes. These groups are very hard to monitor, since only accepted members have access to them.
At the end of September 2016, the sock brand Chuangcheng Hosiery Manufacturing Ltd from Jiangyin city in Jiangsu province reported a large quantity of fake socks, which were being sold on WeChat. The subsequent raid was carried out on October 14th by the Department of Economic Criminality of Public Security Bureau Yiwu. 2,780 bags packed with counterfeit socks and 70,000 packaging articles labeled “Chuan Cheng” have been found in the hidden factory. Two suspects from Guangdong and from Wenzhou have been arrested.
According to the police, the raid was the first one carried out against counterfeiters who were selling via WeChat.
China Intellectual Property Blog 