Anti-counterfeit QR codes: how they work

Give every item its own serial number in a GS1 QR code. Shoppers can check a product is genuine, and you can see when a code has been copied.

Can a QR code stop counterfeits?

Not on its own. Anyone can photograph a QR code and print it again. What a QR code can do is make copies easy to spot.

The trick is to stop using one code for every pack. If each item carries its own serial number, the system behind the code knows which serials you issued, and how often and where each one is scanned. A genuine serial is usually scanned a handful of times. A copied one turns up again and again, often in places you don't sell.

That gives you two things a single code can't: shoppers get a quick way to check what they're holding, and you get early warning that fakes are out there.

How serialized GS1 QR codes work

A GS1 QR code holds a web address built with GS1 Digital Link. It contains your product's GTIN, and it can also hold a serial number, so the same product gets a different code on every item.

A serialized GS1 Digital Link

yourbrand.com /01/09506000134369 /21/K7R2M9QX4T

Your domain
The product (GTIN, GS1 code 01)
This one item (serial number, GS1 code 21)

Because it's a GS1 standard, the same code can be read at retail checkouts as they move to 2D barcodes, and opens your product page when a shopper scans it with a phone. You don't need a separate security label next to your barcode.

Signs a code has been copied

One serial, lots of scans. A single item rarely gets scanned more than a few times. Dozens of scans of the same serial point to copies.
One serial, many places. The same serial scanned in several countries, or far from where that batch was shipped.
A serial you never issued. Counterfeiters sometimes make up numbers. If it isn't on your list, it isn't yours.

When a scan looks wrong, the page the shopper sees can say so and ask them to get in touch, which also tells you where the fakes are being sold.

Make serial numbers hard to guess

Don't number items 1, 2, 3. If your serials run in order, a counterfeiter who sees one can work out the rest and print codes that look genuine.

Use random serials instead. GS1 allows up to 20 letters and numbers, so there's plenty of room to make them impossible to guess. Keep a record of every serial you issue, matched to its batch, so you can check scans against it.

Combine codes with physical protection

Serialized codes work best alongside physical features like tamper-evident seals or holograms. The seal shows whether the pack has been opened, and the code shows whether the item is one you made. For high-value goods, putting the code under a scratch-off panel or inside the pack makes it harder to photograph before sale.

What about Amazon Transparency?

Amazon Transparency puts a unique code on each item for products sold through Amazon, and Amazon checks those codes before units ship. If Amazon is your main channel, it's worth looking at.

It doesn't cover the rest of your sales: your own store, retailers, distributors and other marketplaces. A serialized GS1 QR code works wherever the product ends up, and the page it opens is your own.

Serialized QR codes with Hovercode

GS1 US Solution Partner

Set up the product once, print as many serials as you need

Create GS1 Digital Link QR codes with serial numbers, batch and expiry using the GS1 QR code generator.
Set up the GTIN once. Codes printed with any serial number open that product's page, so you don't need a separate entry for every item.
Send scans to a product page we build for you, or to your own site, and change it any time after printing.
Run codes on your own domain, so the address shoppers see is yours.
Create codes in bulk or through our API.

Need copy detection? Book a demo and we'll set it up for your products.

Frequently asked questions

Can counterfeiters copy a QR code?

Yes, a QR code can be photographed and reprinted. That's why anti-counterfeit codes give every item its own serial number: copies can't be stopped, but they show up as the same serial being scanned many times or in many places.

How does a shopper check a product is genuine?

They scan the QR code on the pack with their phone camera. The page that opens shows the product, and can warn them if that code's scan history looks like a copy.

Are serialized QR codes GS1 compliant?

Yes, when they use GS1 Digital Link. The serial number goes in the code alongside the GTIN, using GS1's serial number code (21), so the same code can be read at checkout and by phones.

Do I need a different QR code on every item?

For counterfeit protection, yes. Each item needs its own serial number, which your printer or packaging line adds as codes are printed. With Hovercode you set up the product once, and every serial opens the right page.

How is this different from Amazon Transparency?

Amazon Transparency protects products sold through Amazon. A serialized GS1 QR code works in every channel, including your own store and retailers, and opens your own product page.

Sources: GS1 Digital Link standard; GS1 Netherlands, application identifiers; Amazon Transparency. Last reviewed October 2026.

Create your GS1 QR codes with Hovercode

Hovercode is a GS1 US Solution Partner, used by thousands of businesses.

Edit after printing. Change where a code goes without reprinting the pack.
A product page for every code. No website needed; we build one you can edit.
Bulk and API. Upload your whole range from a spreadsheet, or create codes through our API.
Your own domain. The printed URL carries your brand.

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