How can counterfeit labels be detected?

Counterfeit labels are typically detected by checking the overt security features a genuine label should carry, such as a hologram’s specific diffractive pattern, correct colour-shift behaviour, an intact VOID pattern, or by scanning a serialised QR code against the brand’s authentication database, since counterfeiters often cannot replicate every security layer exactly.

For consumers, the simplest checks involve visual and physical inspection: does the hologram show the expected pattern and colour shift when tilted, is the print quality and registration sharp rather than blurry, and is there any sign the label has already been lifted and reapplied. Scan-to-verify QR codes provide a more definitive check, since the code is checked against the brand’s database in real time, and an invalid, already-used, or unusually high scan count can flag a likely counterfeit.

Brands and inspectors with access to covert features can go further, using a UV light to check for fluorescent ink patterns invisible under normal light, or forensic tools for microtext and other features not designed to be consumer-verifiable. Genuine counterfeits are rarely perfect: differences in hologram depth, ink colour accuracy, adhesive behaviour on removal, or barcode readability are common giveaways. Because counterfeiters do improve their techniques over time, brands using security labels typically review and periodically update their feature set rather than relying on a single static design indefinitely.