$700 Billion Counterfeit Product Industry Targeted

Consumers get visual help in identifying counterfeit products.   

July 9, 2013, Los Angeles, CA – Purchasing a poor-quality product sounds bad -- nobody wants  shoes that don’t last, fuzzy DVD's or batteries that leak, but the problem is much bigger than that. The counterfeit product industry is an exploding $700 billion global criminal industry with little information or protection available to consumers. Counterfeit goods, mainly from China, have become as profitable for Asia's criminal gangs as illegal drug trafficking says a United Nations report. Yet, counterfeiters continue to pump counterfeit auto parts, fashion accessories, heath care items, medications, pet supplies and sporting goods into a  market already saturated with fake Rolex watches and designer handbags.

The website; The Counterfeit Report®  (http://theCounterfeitReport.com) provides consumers a free and informative visual guide to avoiding counterfeit products, while providing legitimate manufacturers consumer education and brand protection. The Counterfeit Report website offers consumers a free, informative and visual product reference library to check and identify counterfeit products and medications. Consumers can report seeing or purchasing counterfeit products directly to the manufacturer right on the website.  “The Counterfeit Report is actually showing consumers the sophistication of counterfeiters and their ability to create visually identical counterfeit products and medications. If it's manufactured, it's probably counterfeited” says founder Craig Crosby.

The Counterfeit Report is the only website that provides legitimate manufacturers an immediate resource to list and update their counterfeit product information in a central venue. This helps consumers instantly identify counterfeit or fake products before they buy, and expands consumer awareness of counterfeit products they would never suspect like the Gillette Razor Blades and Tide Detergent featured on the website. The anti-counterfeiting effort is more than protecting a trademark or brand; it is also protecting consumers and pets from unsafe and potentially deadly products and medications.

Counterfeit statistics are staggering. Over 40% of online prescriptions are counterfeit, Amazon Marketplace was recently identified as a leader in the proliferation of counterfeit products, and the US military reports a huge influx of counterfeit parts that are putting our troops at risk. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates that over 500,000 counterfeit aircraft parts are installed in aircraft each year, with potentially catastrophic results. 33 million doses of fake Malaria drugs were seized in Angola.

Internet sites and online auction sites including Amazon Marketplace and eBay are swamped with real-looking counterfeit or "knock-off" merchandise, while Chinese websites openly and freely advertise bulk counterfeited national brands for sale. These Chinese products often make their way to secondary retailers, swap meets and websites whose sellers often promote them as "genuine" or "100% authentic," then disappear after the sale. Counterfeiting even extends to wines. Counterfeit wines are so prevalent, that expensive wine bottles are now being smashed to prevent them from being refilled and re-sold to unsuspecting consumers. 

The economic impact is also substantial; the purchase of counterfeit products is supporting criminals who avoid paying taxes, cost US businesses over $250 Billion annually and destroy an estimated 750,000 US jobs.  Illegal counterfeiting activity is reportedly more profitable than the international illicit drug trade, difficult to track and widely un-punished says the recent United Nations Report.   

While we all recognize the tough economic times, there is no reason for a consumer to get stung by poor quality, substandard and unsafe counterfeit products and medications. Many counterfeit products are identified when they are returned to the manufacturer for warranty repairs, leaving the consumer out their investment and without the product. "It's the consumer who ultimately gets hurt. We're here simply because counterfeiting is wrong” concluded Crosby.

Website: www.theCounterfeitReport.com
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