Holiday shoppers are being urged to watch out for fake designer goods as experts warn it is increasingly difficult to spot the difference between dupes and the real deal.
The global counterfeit goods economy has swollen to an estimated $2.3 trillion worldwide, according to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC).
And experts warn the problem is becoming increasingly dangerous as even electricals and cosmetics are being duped – putting buyers at risk. The NCPC estimates fake goods cause around 70 deaths and 350,000 serious injuries each year in the US.
Consumer advocate Craig Crosby, who runs the website The Counterfeit Report, told DailyMail.com: ‘The counterfeit goods market is exploding not just in numbers but in the breadth of products being faked.
‘We all know to look out for the fake sunglasses and Rolexes. But now it’s products like children’s toys and electricals that are being counterfeited online.’
Crosby started his site in 2012 after noticing how many batteries he bought were leaking or breaking before their expiration date. He realized the problem was they were counterfeit.
Now he has software that alerts him to fake products on major retail websites. Since launching, he has helped to have 430 million counterfeit goods taken down from Ebay, Amazon and Walmart.
He said: ‘When people ask me what sort of products are counterfeited, I tell them: what isn’t counterfeited? Fake goods are now the largest criminal enterprise in the world.’
Data from the National Crime Prevention Council (NPCP) estimates that fake products now account for 3.3 percent of world trade.
A separate study by the US Government Accountability Office suggests as many as 25 percent of shoppers have purchased some kind of counterfeit product online.
Historically the problem has been concentrated in second-hand online stores like Facebook Marketplace.
And in the past consumers knowingly bought counterfeit goods as a way to appear as those they have designer products – at a discounted price.
But fake goods are now so convincing shoppers often can’t tell the difference.
Paul Delponte, an executive director at the NCPC, told DailyMail.com: ‘Lots of consumers will be browsing online in the run-up to the holidays.
‘The general rule is: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Most fake products violate consumer protection laws and the effects can be dangerous. Even pharmaceuticals and skincare products are being faked now.’
In 2018, a federal investigation purchased a total of 47 products from third-party sellers hosted on well-established ecommerce websites: Amazon, Walmart, Ebay, Sears Marketplace and Newegg.
The products being ripped off included: make-up from Urban Decay, Yeti travel mugs and Nike Air Jordan shoes.
The report – produced by the United States Government Accountability Office – noted that counterfeit products can pose harm to humans.
An investigation of 400 fake iPhone adapters exposed that some ‘posed a risk of lethal electrocution’ while counterfeit travel mugs contained higher-than-approved concentrations of lead.
Fake cosmetics have also been found to contain hazardous materials including ‘cyanide, arsenic, mercury, lead, urine and rat droppings.’
Amazon in particular has come under intense scrutiny for the explosion in counterfeit products being sold via third parties on its website.
