AI Becomes A New Fort For Consumer Protection From Fake Products In E-Commerce

Illustration of online shopping (photo: Freepik)

JAKARTA - For many people, online shopping has become a small habit that is done without thinking 'strengthening the screen, browsing the catalog, then waiting for the package to arrive. But behind this convenience, fraud and the circulation of counterfeit products are also growing more sophisticated.

As of October 16, 2025, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) noted that there were around 299,237 fraud reports, and more than 53 thousand of them were related to online shopping transactions.

This figure is not just a statistic, this is an illustration that consumer confidence is now at the edge of a knife. Cybersecurity observer and Chairman of the CISSReC Indonesian Cyber Research Institute, Pratama Persadha, admitted that the mode of crime in the e-commerce world has evolved.

He said that in recent years the fraud mode was no longer simple, but involved the disguise of fake shops that identically imitated the appearance of official brands.

"Use of AI product photos to make visible catalogs, as well as exploitation of delivery features such as fake receipts or manipulation of delivery status," Pratama explained to VOI.

The Role of AI for Fighting Fraud in e-Commerce

However, in the midst of an increasingly sophisticated wave of fraud, the e-commerce industry has not remained silent. One of those who took aggressive steps was Lazada, through a technology strategy that was much sharper than a few years ago.

With a large investment in AI-based advanced technology and machine learning (ML), Lazada continues to affirm its commitment to providing a system that is able to recognize the characteristics of products, patterns, and help filter thousands of listings every day, according to applicable policies.

Every day, Lazada's AI system manages to analyze millions of signals, ranging from transaction history, price changes, to product image metadata to detect unreasonable patterns.

"We continue to invest in technology development, including AI, to provide intelligent and personal shopping experience," said Head of Business Growth and Operations of Lazada Indonesia, Amelia Tediarjo.

Lazada has even designed an AI-based personal shopping assistant, namely AI Lakhali, which is designed to be able to serve consumers at any time. AI Lakhali can be used to seek attractive offers quickly.

Pratama assessed that the presence of AI is able to identify anomalies of seller behavior, suspicious pricing patterns, and visual similarities in catalogs similar to official products. However, the level of accuracy relies on dataset quality, product category variations, and the perpetrator's creativity in avoiding detection.

AI La34 has proven to be able to create a more personal, interactive, and efficient shopping experience for consumers, especially during campaign periods that present various attractive offers.

Lazada's AI assistant not only answers questions, but also provides personalized product recommendations based on user preferences, purchasing history, to ongoing campaign trends

Bahkan, dalam beberapa kampanye besar, AI La senjadi salah satu fitur yang paling banyak digunakan, terutama untuk kategori beauty, elektronik, dan kebutuhan rumah tangga.

The Effectiveness Of LazMall's Presence To Fight Fake Products

Not only AI, Lazada also continues to strive to present original 100% products through the LazMall feature, which displays products from verified official brands or distributors and resellers.

LazMall now houses more than 32,000 brands, making it the largest official brand channel in Indonesia, with strict standards ranging from store legality verification to periodic audit catalogs.

According to Pratama, the presence of LazMall can minimize fraud when transacting. "In general, the official channel is proven to reduce the chances of consumers receiving counterfeit goods, especially for the category of gadgets, premium fashion, and health products," he said.

In the context of risk mitigation for consumers, the existence of official channels such as LazMall on the Lazada platform is even considered an important progress in Indonesia's e-commerce ecosystem.

Meanwhile, in terms of consumers, LazMall is designed to protect them with a policy of returning goods for up to 30 days, providing extra comfort for customers if the products received are not on expectations.

At the seller level, Lazada has a series of advanced features such as Lazada Business Advisor, to access market performance insights and trends, Sponsored Solutions to help sellers target audiences, AI Smart Listing to shorten catalog creation time, and AI-Powered Product Description to make a description of goods.

LazMall's four-pillar guarantees include: 100% original product, easy 30-day return guarantees at no additional cost, timely delivery guarantees, and overall protection ecosystem support. If there is a delay, Lazada compensates users for accountability.

LazMall's Success In Empowering Local MSMEs

But technology does not work alone. The impact is most pronounced when meeting local business actors such as Sheriz, a beauty brand from East Java that starts from home production.

Ketika Sheriz masuk ke LazMall, owner & founder Sheriz, Shelma Ayu Desearsa menyatakan bahwa pasar mereka meluas. Mereka mendapatkan pendampingan, pembebasan beberapa biaya, hingga bantuan optimalisasi kolog.

"Since joining, we have not only received direct assistance, but also various incentives such as some exemption from some fees, which is certainly very helpful when we are adapting to a new platform," said Sheriz owner & founder Shelma Ayu Deshessa in the story of her business journey.

Consumer Protection That Is No Longer In The Hands Of Consumers

Sheriz's success is also in line with Lazada's commitment to encourage an inclusive digital economy ecosystem. Lazada continues to innovate to encourage the Indonesian digital economy ecosystem, including by innovating, offering various conveniences for business people in Indonesia.

Through strengthening AI technology, optimizing LazMall, and selling education programs, Lazada encourages local MSMEs to enter a more competitive and secure digital value chain, while reducing the risk of the circulation of counterfeit products.

Lazada also collaborates with brand owners, industry associations, BPOM, and DJKI through the Intellectual Property Protection (IPP) portal, allowing the reporting of products violating HKI to be carried out quickly, accurately, and transparently.