Can You Spot a Counterfeit Product?

If you think that stunning designer handbag or fancy perfume price is too good to be true, it probably is. Can you identify a fake?

Most shoppers recognize that the cheap prices and poor craftsmanship of those Rolex watches and Coach handbags hawked by street vendors are sure signs of counterfeit. And the market is also flooded by phony designer perfumes, pharmaceuticals and electronics. According to The Counterfeit Report website, everyday products are widely distributed over trusted websites that include Amazon and eBay. And, the website says, the counterfeit product industry is raking in alarming sales — expected to top $1.5 trillion globally by 2015.

If you’re saying, "Not me. I don’t buy fake designer goods," think again. You might find counterfeits in your own home that were purchased as gifts and given to you by unsuspecting friends and family members.

So you think you can spot a fake? "Probably not," says The Counterfeit Report founder Craig Crosby. "If it’s manufactured, it’s probably been counterfeited and will likely fool you." The Counterfeit Report website features more than 200 global brands and hundreds of counterfeit product photos to help consumers identify the fakes.

"Poor quality, deceptive and often unusable counterfeit products are not the only hazards shoppers are facing — consumers are becoming ill and even dying from counterfeit products and pharmaceuticals," says Crosby. Harper’s Bazaar Magazine found counterfeit fragrances that included ingredients like urine, bacteria and antifreeze. Errrrrrgh. And a 23-year-old woman collapsed to the floor and died from electrocution while answering a call on her charging iPhone 5. A counterfeit iPhone charger is suspected. In the same week, a 30-year-old fell into a coma in China after being electrocuted by a charging iPhone.

Crosby says counterfeiting criminals avoid taxes, destroy an estimated 750,000 U.S. jobs, and cost U.S. businesses more than $250 billion annually. Unfortunately, many counterfeit products aren’t identified until they are returned to the manufacturer for warranty or repairs, leaving the consumer out their investment and without a product. "It’s the consumer who ultimately gets hurt. We’re here because counterfeiting is wrong,” concludes Crosby.

Check out the photo to the left, sent to me by our managing editor, Deborah Carter. Fortunately, the manufacturer was pretty sloppy when creating the label that says "Made in French," only to contradict with a second label that says "Made in China." If all frauds were this easy to spot, the counterfeit product market wouldn’t be worth a trillion dollars a year.

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