KNOCKOFF – the deadly trade in counterfeit goods, Tim Phillips

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

The deadly trade



So you thought that ‘Rolex’ you picked up in Beijing for a fiver wasn’t really doing anyone any harm? This book will make you think again.

Counterfeiting is apparently one of the fastest growing industries in the world ($500 billion or more). Far from being a ‘victimless’ crime that irritates the rich companies who are targeted, this illegal global industry spews corruption, violence and the deaths of thousands of people every year.

Tim Phillips has researched an incredible amount of information for this highly readable and informative volume that spans the globe as it exposes this vast industry.

Pretty well anything can be and is counterfeited. From handbags and watches to medicines and aeroplane spares, the fakers make killings (sometimes literally) day after day.

So who cares if Gucci loses a few quid because you buy a fake? Probably no-one, especially since you probably wouldn’t have bought the real thing anyway, so it’s Marks & Spencer who lost a sale really. But what about those drugs you got on prescription last week? Fake drugs can be very dangerous. As can fake booze made with methyl alcohol; yes, it has turned up in the UK!

From CDs to software, medicines to machine parts, the counterfeiters are operating and making big profits. And if you are the victim whose replacement windscreen isn’t properly tempered or whose brake pads are made from compressed grass or sawdust, well – the warranty won’t stand up even if you do survive the impact.

This is an entertaining read that will leave you better informed. More – it is an important book that should make you think hard next time you are offered a fake. Let me leave you with Tim Phillips’ final sentences; ‘Fakes destroy honest companies and kill innocent people. When you buy them, you’re helping it to happen.’