Everyone likes to shop for bargains and it can be fun too.

 

 

 

 

 

When purchasing branded goods from anywhere other than a reputable and established retailer you should recognise the risk that any product bought could be a potential fake.

 

Buying from street vendors, Sunday markets, car boot sales or a tout on a motorway rest area should be viewed with caution. Remember that any sales person trying to sell such goods will be practice perfect and have the most plausible story available to persuade you that the goods are genuine. They will have been able to develop and hone such a story hundreds of times before they approach you. Tales of not wanting to return home with surplus ?exhibition stock? and last season?s mail order catalogue clearances are common and should not be believed.

 

Most worrying of all though is the increasing amount of purchasers who consider buying branded bargains and generic medication over the internet. There have been innumerable instances of fake pharmaceuticals and counterfeit designer products being sold on auction websites. The fact that other swindles exist and make it increasingly risky to purchase products this way seems not to deter buyers in the slightest.

 

It should be remembered that buying counterfeits might have greater consequences than many people realise. Apart from serious damage to health and safety it may be putting money into the hands of criminals and terrorists who that use it to further their own ends.