Holiday and Fakes
I received a news letter last week telling me about thousands of Brits are buying knocked –offs and fake computer gear, jeans on summer holidays or at car boot sales.
Microsoft is warning buyers of dodgy goods that the cheap purchase could give them a virus. Research from YouGov, commissioned by Microsoft, shows that most counterfeit goods are bought on holiday, despite the fact that more than half of people surveyed 52 per cent-see buying counterfeit as theft.
Out of the 2,000 people that had bought counterfeit items, 35 per cent said that these goods were purchased overseas.
Buying counterfeit goods isn’t confined to holidaymakers, 31 per cent did so at market stalls or car boot sales, and 11 per cent at auction websites and 3 per cent from permanent retail outlets.
Newcastle was named as Britain’s counterfeit capital in the survey. Only 22 per cent of those survey there said buying fake goods was unacceptable, making them the country’s most likely purchasers of knocked off goods and forgeries, YouGov said.
DVDs are the most popular purchases, followed by CDs, copied software and then clothing and fashion items. More than one in five of those questioned felt that “nothing would stop them” buying pirated goods.
Michaela Alexander, head of anti-piracy in the UK at Microsoft, said: “Many people are not aware of the potential harm that installing a counterfeit copy of Microsoft windows could cause.”
The counterfeit software market is highly lucrative for illegal traders, but people who buy pirated software are putting themselves at risk of cyber-crime and identity theft, which can have dire consequences.
Using non-genuine software also means that internet fraudsters can access your personal details, as pirated goods are typically far less secure.
Faze4u will like it’s readers to know that when it comes to software, use the genuine product or you might pay a heavy price in future.
