COST-conscious and recession-hit people in the West Midlands are buying counterfeit goods instead of the real thing, putting them at an increased risk of being a victim of unofficial traders.

The survey, carried out by YouGov, revealed that 16% of people in the region interviewed had bought fake goods knowingly. A further 11% said that they had been tempted to buy counterfeits.

As to the main reasons why people in the West Midlands would consider buying fake goods, over a fifth (21%) stated that it was due to the fact that they are cheaper than the real thing, while 15% put it down to having less money to spend as a result of the recession so could not afford to buy genuine goods.

Seventeen per cent of people said that they would be happy to receive such goods, especially in the lead-up to Christmas, with eight per cent stating they would as friends and family are struggling to pay for presents.

The top fake products that people would like to buy or receive in the future are shoes and clothing (13% would consider buying and 15% would be happy to receive them respectively), watches and jewellery (8% and 10% respectively) and DVDs, CDs and computer games (10% and 11% respectively).

The research also highlighted that 65% of consumers in the region interviewed are worried about becoming a victim of counterfeit goods in the lead-up to Christmas. Over a third (38%), were worried that they might mistakenly buy counterfeit goods as more would come on stream as Christmas day approached, 46% were worried about providing credit/debit card details to potentially unscrupulous people, 33% about buying something online and not receiving it and 34% about product safety.

Roy Crozier, an intellectual property partner at Clarke Willmott, said: “This research gives an impression of the scale of demand and attitude towards counterfeit goods in the West Midlands, whether it’s people buying them, tempted to buy them in the future or receiving them, as well as those who are concerned about becoming an unwitting victim.”

He added: “The public in the West Midlands needs to wake up to the threat of counterfeit goods and realise that when they purchase such goods online they are dealing with a faceless person in another part of the world.

“Such purchasers will end up with a shoddy product and, in some cases, a dangerous product and there is a real risk that their personal details will be passed on to other cyber criminals.

“They, therefore, have to ask themselves whether that’s the type of transaction they want to enter into. While there are great bargains out there to be had as under-pressure retailers continue to discount, consumers need to be increasingly mindful of counterfeits and be diligent, especially when buying online. As always, if it looks too good to be true then it probably is.

“Retailers and suppliers based in the region also need to look at their anti-counterfeiting strategies. In particular, they need to educate consumers, a fact borne out by the research, which reveals that a wide range of counterfeit products, including car parts, are being bought beyond the usual suspect items such as clothing, jewellery, watches, computer games and electronic goods.

“If they don’t educate their customers about the existence of counterfeit products and the risks of purchasing the same, then they will risk losing out on sales, which they can ill afford to do, especially at the moment.”