UKBA warning: "Avoid a counterfeit Christmas"

Christmas shoppers looking for a bargain should be wary of counterfeit goods flooding the market in the run-up to the festive season, the UK Border Agency has warned. Brian Sims has the detail.

Fake UGG boots, GHD hair straighteners, iPhones and iPads are among the tens of thousands of counterfeit items that have been seized by UKBA officers as they have been brought into the country in recent months.

Grant Miller of the UK Border Agency's Heathrow International Trade Division said: "Buyers can be left with products which are, at best, inferior to genuine ones and, at worst, harmful or unsafe. We are uncovering all sorts of fake goods, from beauty products to children's toys, and we're warning people to be particularly wary of buying cheap items online or from unofficial traders."

Miller went on to say: "It's easy to be tricked into thinking you're getting a bargain, but in the run-up to Christmas our message is that if something appears too good to be true it probably is."

Cost to the UK economy? £1.3 billion

Immigration minister Damian Green said: "We are dealing with a huge criminal business. The international trade in counterfeit goods is serious organised crime and, for the gangs behind it, it is low-risk and high-reward. Intellectual property crime is a serious economic threat, and it's estimated to be worth around £1.3 billion in the UK each year."

The minister continued: "That's why we have UK Border Agency officers operating 24 hours a day at ports, airports and mail sorting centres and they have seized thousands of counterfeit items that could otherwise have ended up as gifts this Christmas."

Trading Standards Institute chief executive Ron Gainsford said: "In this difficult economic climate money is tight for many of us, but there could be a high price to pay for bargain presents that aren't 'the real deal'. Trading standards are working hard with other authorities to stop criminals ruining consumers' festive spirit as millions of low-quality and potentially dangerous counterfeit products are flooding the country in time for Christmas, particularly by way of markets, car boot sales and online."

Gainsford also said: "Check, double check and check again to make sure what you are buying and where you are buying from is the real deal."

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