AI system recognizes illegal retailers & wholesalers - and the networks behind them.
AI system recognizes illegal retailers & wholesalers - and the networks behind them.
Illegal trade - such as smuggling and counterfeiting - is a growing global problem that has already destroyed almost half a million jobs in Europe and washes around one trillion (!) euros into the pockets of criminals every year. Traditional methods of combating such offenses quickly reach their limits - mainly due to the complex patterns involved: although manufacturers and authorities are discovering counterfeit or smuggled goods with increasing precision, it is far too rare to track down the criminal networks behind them. For example, an illegal trader is banned from the popular online stores, but reappears there immediately under a new identity. Recognizing and tracing this requires the collection and analysis of a huge amount of heterogeneous data from many different sources in order to quickly and automatically identify criminal patterns and profiles. Until now, there has been no solution for this.
To address this, the ATTENTION! project was launched: funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the government of Singapore, leading universities, manufacturers such as Schaeffler, Puma, and Stihl, forensic experts, and—serving as AI and software partner—HASE & IGEL are working together to track down the smugglers and counterfeiters behind these goods. Based on data from hundreds of thousands of cases provided by industry partners, explainable AI models learn to identify suspicious patterns. Once a potentially illegal trading company has been detected, HASE & IGEL’s algorithms compile relevant information about it from online sources, corporate databases, and customs data to help investigate the suspicion and uncover the networks behind it. This includes questions such as “Where are its shell addresses?”, “Where does it advertise?”, “Who links to its offers?”, or “Where are the same stolen images being used?”. The technology is based on NEUTRUM and is being further developed to meet the requirements of this use case. The NEUTRUM system also provides a strong foundation for intuitive user interfaces that enable employees of companies and authorities to easily assess identified cases and networks and initiate appropriate actions.
The ATTENTION! project is setting new standards in the fight against illegal trading activities: instead of just tracking and confiscating illegal goods, it is now possible to tackle the traffickers behind them and their criminal networks, which makes it much more effective. Automation using AI not only enables ongoing learning from the criminal patterns identified, but also saves an enormous amount of time. This allows companies and authorities to successfully process more cases with their often scarce personnel resources. The NEUTRUM platform offers a flexible, continuously developed basis for intuitive AI software that can be modularly docked onto the systems of the respective users. This makes it much more difficult for the “bad guys” in international trade to launder money unnoticed and place unsafe products on the market.
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