How to Find Links Between Domains, Social Media and Marketplaces in Counterfeit Sales

Risky sellers need not operate on one platform. A marketplace store may direct customers to Instagram, then to an independent domain or messaging channel.

Identifying these links takes brand protection beyond listing-level takedowns to seller network intelligence.

Shared identity signals

Telephone
Email
Username
Store name
Company name
Domain
Link-in-bio
Payment link

Visual connections

The same product photo, watermark, background or campaign image across channels can create a network signal.

Domain analysis

Domain names, website contact details, social links and publicly visible technical relationships can be matched to other accounts.

Marketplace seller profile

Store names, product portfolios, pricing structures and description text may match or resemble those used on social media accounts.

Graph model

Model accounts as nodes and connections such as telephones, domains or images as edges to visualise the seller network.

Confidence score

Rather than relying on one signal, use the number and strength of independent connections to assign low, medium or high connection confidence.

Operational use

The network view can reveal the main sales account, reopened accounts and sellers that should be considered together.

Operational implementation and measurement

In a brand protection operation, treat shared identity signals, visual connections and domain analysis as parts of the same case record, not as independent checks. For each finding, record the source, product, seller, channel, date and time, risk rationale and action taken in structured fields wherever possible. This supports both individual case review and comparison of the same seller’s or product group’s behaviour over time.

Instead of focusing on total alert volume, track the verified risk rate, false-positive rate, review time, repeat-seller rate and action outcome together. In particular, record the operational answer to “Does the same telephone number mean the same seller?” and use expert feedback in subsequent detections. Over time, the monitoring system can become decision support that helps the brand team prioritise cases more accurately, rather than merely finding more records.

Decision matrix and escalation approach

Sound decisions require a verification step between detection and action. Keep shared identity signals, visual connections and domain analysis traceable within the same case record. Even a strong signal must not be treated as a definitive infringement finding without assessing commercial impact, data reliability and false-positive risk together. Low-confidence cases can be directed to further data collection, medium-confidence cases to expert review, and high-confidence, high-impact cases to the brand’s defined escalation process.

As the operation matures, measure not just how many records are found, but which records turn out to represent genuine risk. Track source freshness, verification rate, false-positive rate, repeat sellers or accounts, average review time and action outcome together. Linking a recurring risk to its previous case allows the team to use earlier evidence and decisions instead of starting its investigation from scratch. This turns brand protection from isolated screenshots into an auditable, comparable risk management system that can improve over time.

B10 Digital Agency’s approach

B10 Digital Agency evaluates counterfeit products, unauthorised sellers, brand impersonation and digital channel risks using seller, product and channel data, beyond individual listings. The aim is not merely to find infringements, but to turn recurring digital risks into a measurable operational system.

Frequently asked questions

Does the same telephone number mean the same seller?

It is a strong signal, but verification with other data is safer.

Is domain information always visible?

No. Domain privacy services or intermediary platforms may limit it.

What does graph analysis do?

It visualises shared connections between accounts that appear unrelated.

Can this system run automatically?

Where data access permits, matching and risk scoring can be largely automated.

How to Match Different Stores Belonging to a Counterfeit Seller
How to Detect Social Media Accounts Selling Counterfeit Products
Cross-Border Brand Protection: Monitoring Counterfeits and Unauthorised Sellers on Global Marketplaces

Measure your digital brand risk

Explore B10 Digital Agency’s brand protection solutions to analyse marketplace, social media and independent e-commerce risks at seller, listing and product level.

Explore Brand Protection & Monitoring →