Don't read this blog post if you're already afraid of flying.
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"No industry is spared from counterfeiting – almost" we thought.
We had been told that the aviation industry had so tight controls and so strong requirements for certifications that there was no wiggle room for counterfeiters. "If you say so" we responded. But to ourselves, we added "...but we wonder if that really holds".
NO industry is spared from counterfeiting. PERIOD.
AOG – Technics have proven us right in our doubt.
According to articles in the news during August to October 2023, AOG Technics, a shady P.O. Box-company supplying "new and serviceable parts for a variety of engines that power (older) Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 models" – have been caught supplying counterfeit parts using bogus certificates.
An escalating scandal
Some 50 parts were affected
Some of them had been found on engines fitted to aircraft registered in the UK
Some three weeks later, 22 September, Forbes provided an update:
At least four airlines have been hit
Southwest and American Airlines among them
About 100 planes have been found fitted with bogus parts from AOG Technics
Flights have been cancelled as a result
AOG Technics seems to have "vanished overnight"
By 5 October, the Sun reported on further escalation of the scandal:
By then, 126 engines across several airlines have been found to be fitted with. Bogus parts from AOG Technics
Authorities are urging airlines to review their records to identify any parts sourced from AOG Technics, to either put them in quarantine or, if already fitted in aircraft, to ground those aircrafts and replace the parts immediately
Apparently, AOG Technics also falsified employee records and profiles on LinkedIn, using stock photos from the Internet
The company now faces London's High Court
At the time of writing this, we are not convinced that we have seen neither the end, nor the full extent of this story.
At Blue Cromos, we are not surprised, but we do come prepared.
We have seen enough of counterfeiting shenanigans by now not to be surprised by the AOG Technics scandal.
For ages, people have forged bills, passports and the like. Why not certificates of authenticity? Combine the forging of documents with counterfeiting of products and you get....AOG Technics!
It is for reasons like this that we devised isAuthentic, the easy and patented method for authenticating products:
No certificates (that can be forged)
No fancy labels
No "magic" ink
No transponders
Just a safe and reliable way to compare the item in front of you with what was originally produced.
Is it a match? ✅ No match? 👎. Can it get any easier?
We're the ones cutting the edge
At Blue Cromos, we don't add fancy labels. We don't add "magic" ink. Nor do we add any transmitters of any kind. We do product authentication like nobody else, using our patented fingerprinting technology. We're cutting the edge of technology to make life easy for you.
Curious? Get in touch!
Do you want to learn more about how isAuthentic can help you fight the counterfeiters? Just get in touch here
Credits: Image from iStock Photo