The Fake Birkin Slayer, this mysterious vigilante who flushes out fake Hermès bags on Instagram

There is a common point between Lis Cuesta Peraza, the first lady of Cuba, the Egyptian actress Nour El Ghendour and the Parisian influencer Ilhana Cohen.

All three found themselves in the crosshairs of

, the “fake Birkin bag hunter” Instagram account.

Followed by nearly 150,000 subscribers, many of them in its first week of existence in early February, this anonymous profile clearly shows its intention to flush out counterfeits from the French brand Hermès.

And gets down to it by pointing, “story” after “story”, many photos from accounts of celebrities from all walks of life.

On the pictures, we can see the protagonists displaying themselves proudly, Hermès bag on their arm.

Anyway, at first sight.

under the pinned posts, the question “Where is this bag from?”

sounds the end of the deception.

Because all these bags are, according to the account, "Fermès" (contraction of "Faux" (fake) and "Hermès"), or counterfeits.

masked vigilante

The whistleblowing operation embarrasses the owners of the bags, who go so far as to delete their publication or suspend their account.

And fascinates the social network.

Especially since

advances masked.

Embodied, via his profile photo, by a mask inspired by that of Anonymous, a symbol of vigilantism, the enigmatic profile lets nothing of his identity show through.

You have to browse the ten stories pinned to the front page, taking up exchanges with the account's subscribers about counterfeit sellers and buyers, to discover that it is held by not one, but several "hunters".

To get a clearer idea of ​​their intentions, head to the profile biography, which hosts a link to a Ted talk.

Hosted by Alastair Gray, an investigator specializing in counterfeiting networks within the Tommy Hilfiger brand, the video bears the evocative title of “How Fake Handbags Fund Terrorism and Organized Crime”.

And acts as a manifesto for

.

It took a month after opening the account for fake hunters to reveal themselves further, in an interview with the influential leather goods site Purse Blog.

We learn that the profile is fed by its creators, who wish to remain anonymous, but also by subscribers who express their suspicions as to the authenticity of bags seen on Instagram.

How do they tell right from wrong?

All holders of Hermès bags in a personal capacity, the members of the group claim to rely on models whose authentication does not “require an expert eye”.

And clarify their motivations: "We were tired of seeing people being scammed with counterfeit bags, and giving money to criminals, all to portray a false reality, likely to influence others,

The scourge of counterfeiting in the viewfinder

If

has achieved such success in such a short time, it is because the account touches on a growing problem.

According to a study published in 2022 by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), 52% of Europeans aged 15 to 24 have purchased at least one counterfeit product online during the year, of which 37% intentionally.

They were only 14% in 2019. At the top of their favorite purchases: clothing and accessories.

Social networks have a role to play in this increase.

New favorite playgrounds for resellers, they allow them to increase their visibility and facilitate access to their customers.

20,280 counterfeiters were active on Instagram in October 2021, accumulating around ten million subscribers, according to a study carried out for the Reuters agency.

A few of these accounts are exposed and reported by

, which doesn't just target owners.

As a reminder, under French law, the possession and sale of counterfeits constitute an offence.

The criminal sanctions incurred can go up to 300,000 euros in fines and three years in prison.

Obscure manufacturing and terrorist financing

This illicit trade does not only impact brands, as

with the video animated by Alastair Gray.

Indeed, with particularly lucrative margins (1 euro invested in counterfeiting can yield up to 10 euros in profit according to the Union of Manufacturers for the International Protection of Intellectual Property (Unifab)), the sale of counterfeit products has become one of the preferred sources of funding for terrorist groups.

To name a few, the investigation into the attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper on January 7, 2015 showed that the Kouachi brothers had notably used the profits from the sale of counterfeit shoes to finance their attack.

Obscure working conditions for manufacturers, use of unregulated materials and chemicals, economic losses for States...

When asked how their crusade contributes to the resolution of this problem,

, contacted by

, answers: "If the buyer of counterfeit products thinks that he will not be able to get away with passing fakes for real, he will be less inclined to spend his money on counterfeit products.

Our goal is to discourage demand by making them less desirable.”

In addition to pointing out the counterfeits spotted on Instagram, the profile redirects its subscribers to the site of the American authorities which allows them to be reported.

Sufficient action to observe an impact?

“We are taking other measures, but we cannot comment on them publicly at this time” argues the group, a decidedly intriguing activist.