10th Anti-Scam Network Meeting: Strengthening the fight against misleading invoices
The EUIPO hosted the 10th meeting of the Anti-Scam Network at the Alicante headquarters on 2 October, bringing together IP offices, user associations, law enforcement, and international partners to share best practices and coordinate action against misleading payment requests targeting intellectual property (IP) users.
Misleading invoices are fraudulent letters or emails sent by scammers pretending to be official IP offices. They often use logos, urgent language, spoofed links or QR codes to trick IP applicants and owners into paying for fake or unnecessary services. According to a recent Europol–EUIPO situation report, these scams generate over €26 million annually for criminal groups across Europe.
During the meeting, participants exchanged national experiences and discussed new trends, legal responses, and enforcement cooperation. Contributions from INPI Portugal, the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia, the Turkish Patent and Trade Mark Office, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office highlighted practical measures to protect users as well as approaches to combat misleading payment requests. Additionally, Europol provided an update on cross-border investigations, underlining the scale of the challenge.
An important announcement concerns the availability of an anti-scam leaflet, accessible in 23 EU languages. This practical tool explains how to recognise misleading invoices, what steps to take when receiving them and the importance of reporting scams to the police and the respective national IP Office. The leaflet will be shared with the members and observers of the Anti-Scam Network to help raise awareness among IP rights applicants and holders across the EU.
Building on this announcement, participants also learnt about other initiatives, including a pilot project for the collection of misleading invoice samples by the User Association MARQUES, and the EUIPO highlighted the ongoing outreach of the Anti-Scam Network, which now counts on growing engagement from IP offices and stakeholders.
For more details on how to identify and avoid misleading payment requests, and to download any linguistic versions of the leaflet, visit the EUIPO’s dedicated webpage on misleading invoices.
