Around one in 10 UK consumers have been injured as a result of purchasing a counterfeit product online in the past year, according to an Incopro report.

Incopro found that nine percent of UK consumers who have purchased a counterfeit product online have suffered an injury in the past 12 months, with 83 percent of those who have been hurt saying that they would not buy from that brand again.

The report showed that 18 to 24 year-olds were the age range that had suffered the most injuries when buying counterfeit goods online, with 22 percent compared to just three percent of 45 to 54 year-olds.

According to Incopro’s report, men are the victim of such incidents more frequently than women.

Counterfeit clothes were the most unintentionally bought good online according to the report, followed by jewellery and electronics.

Incopro’s report follows a warning from detective superintendent Kevin Ives of the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit, who condemned the sale of counterfeit makeup and warned of the possibility of “severe injury” as a result of those purchases.

Incopro’s CEO and co-founder, Simon Baggs, said that the issue was “affecting every industry”.

He said: “As this Incopro survey confirms, this is far from being a victimless crime. Counterfeits are often priced the same as the genuine item despite costing a fraction to manufacture. They are much more likely to fall apart and offer a serious risk to the purchaser.”
“Counterfeits are available to buy from online marketplaces of every size. Often consumers are unaware of the dangers. Brands must tackle the commercial networks at the heart of this problem.”
Download the report

Read the original article from IPPro The internet here.