A system for protecting against distribution of counterfeit products, the system comprising:
- transmitter antenna;
- a first receiver antenna;
- a second receiver antenna;
- at least one processor configured to:
- store an ownership history for each of a plurality of products in at least one data structure, the plurality of products including a specific product, wherein the ownership history of the specific product includes:
- at least a first identity of a first entity associated with a current owner of the specific product, and
- at least a second identity of a second entity associated with a prior owner of the specific product;
- store tag IDs of a plurality of electronic tags, wherein the stored tag IDs include a specific tag ID of a specific electronic tag that is associated with the specific product;
- store a list of at least one authorized entity associated with the specific electronic tag;
- receive, from a device associated with a prospective subsequent custodian of the specific product, a first encrypted data associated with the specific product, wherein the specific electronic tag includes a circuit configured to encrypt the specific tag ID to generate the first encrypted data;
- receive, from a device associated with at least one entity in the ownership history, a second encrypted data associated with the specific product, wherein the circuit of the specific electronic tag is configured to encrypt the specific tag ID to generate the second encrypted data;
- determine, based on the first encrypted data received from the device associated with a prospective subsequent custodian, and the second encrypted data received from the device associated with the at least one entity in the ownership history, a current location of the specific electronic tag associated with the specific product wherein determining a current location of the specific electronic tag includes using the phase, amplitude, frequency, variation or data content of the first encrypted data and the second encrypted data to calculate a location relative to the device associated with a prospective subsequent custodian and the device associated with the at least one entity in the ownership history;
- receive, on behalf of the prospective subsequent custodian, a query associated with a third identity;
- decrypt the first encrypted data to obtain the specific tag ID and use the obtained specific tag ID to identify the specific product associated with the specific electronic tag;
- decrypt the second encrypted data to obtain the specific tag ID and use the obtained specific tag ID to identify the specific product associated with the specific electronic tag;
- verify that the specific tag ID obtained from the first encrypted data and from the second encrypted data are identical;
- use information associated with the specific electronic tag to access the ownership history for the specific product from the at least one data structure;
- use the information associated with the specific electronic tag to access the list of the at least one authorized entity associated with the specific electronic tag;
- check if the third identity identified in the query corresponds to an entity in the ownership history of the specific product;
- check if the prospective subsequent custodian corresponds to an authorized entity associated with the specific electronic tag;
- cause one of:
- a transmission of an authenticity indication to the prospective subsequent custodian if the third identity identified in the query corresponds to an entity in the ownership history of the specific product and the prospective subsequent custodian corresponds to an authorized entity associated with the specific electronic tag,
- a transmission of a non-authentic indication to the prospective subsequent custodian if the third identity identified in the query does not correspond to an entity in the ownership history of the specific product and the prospective subsequent custodian corresponds to an authorized entity associated with the specific electronic tag,
- a transmission of a non-authorization indication to the prospective subsequent custodian if the prospective subsequent custodian does not correspond to an authorized entity associated with the specific electronic tag,
- compare a current location of a tag with a designated location of a tag;
- generate a first signal;
- transmit, via the transmitter antenna, the first signal to the plurality of identification tags to cause the plurality of identification tags to transmit a second signal, the second signal indicating whether the first signal was received;
- detect, via the first receiver antenna, the second signal from the plurality of identification tags;
- detect, via the second receiver antenna, a third signal from a tag;
- upon determining a mismatch based on the comparison or when the processor detects the third signal using the second receiver antenna, wherein the tag is located outside of a particular location range, generating a potential fraud alert based on the particular location range;
- receive a third encrypted data from the device associated with the prospective subsequent custodian or from the device associated with the at least one entity in the ownership history, wherein the circuit of the specific electronic tag is configured to encrypt the specific tag ID to generate the third encrypted data and wherein the third encrypted data is different from the first encrypted data and the second encrypted data;
- and
- decrypt the third encrypted data to obtain the specific tag ID and use the obtained specific tag ID to identify the specific product associated with the specific electronic tag.