WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

ILLICIT TRAFFICKING OF COUNTERFEIT GOODS - CRIME - IMPORTANT TO WOMEN

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UNODC - UN Office of Drugs & Crime

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2014/January/counterfeit-dont-buy-into-organized-crime---unodc-launches-new-outreach-campaign-on-250-billion-a-year-counterfeit-business.html

 

Direct Link to Full 10-Page Publication:

http://www.unodc.org/documents/counterfeit/FocusSheet/Counterfeit_focussheet_EN_HIRES.pdf

 

The Value of Counterfieting as an Illicit Activity

Counterfeiting is a hugely profi table business, with criminals relying

on the continued high demand for cheap goods coupled with

low production costs. By nature of this being an illicit business,

the extent of counterfeiting is diffi cult to calculate and estimations

can vary signifi cantly. One widely used fi gure from the OECD

places the value of counterfeiting in the region of $250 billion per

year. This fi gure, however, includes neither domestically produced

and consumed counterfeit products nor the signifi cant volume of

pirated digital products being distributed via the Internet which

would lead the fi gure of worldwide counterfeiting to be “several

hundred billion dollars more”.23

The Growing Trend in Online Sales: An Opportunity for Organized Crime

 

Just as the licit market for online sales of goods is increasing, so is

the opportunity for the online sale of counterfeit goods by organized

crime groups. The full extent of the role of organized crime

groups in selling such products online is yet to be determined.

However, they have proven to be extremely versatile and opportunistic

when it comes to new avenues of illicit profi t generation.

This is coupled with the added challenge of digital piracy of fi lm,

games, music and other digital products as the internet evolves as

a platform that is abused by criminal groups for illicit operations.

With this comes not just the opportunities for more digital sales of

physical counterfeit goods but also possibly a greater shift toward

illegal selling of digital products.

Threat to Public Health and Safety

 

Counterfeit goods and fraudulent medicines pose a serious risk

to public health and safety. With no legal regulation and very

little recourse, consumers are at risk from unsafe and ineffective

products.

 

With criminals operating in any and all areas where there is a profit

to be made, the extent of the crime is far wider than copying designer

handbags and DVDs. From children’s toys to car parts, alcohol

to agricultural tools, clothes to cosmetics – the list is extensive

and diverse, with few ‘opportunities’ left out. Even the counterfeiting

of civil and military aeroplane parts have been reported

over the years, while increasing reports of electrical and other

items being copied highlight a signifi cant public health risk.32;33

Faulty counterfeited products can lead directly to injury and death.

The vast range of items which are illegally copied can have serious

health and safety consequences and have been raised in various

parts of the world, including in developing countries.