CBC MARKETPLACE: YOUR HOME » COUNTERFEITS
Faking It
Broadcast: April 9, 2006

Uncertified products aren't just back alley commodities. They're turning up in surprising places. (CBC)

You might expect to find knockoffs of familiar products being hawked on sidewalks, at flea markets and dollar stores.

And you might think the counterfeits are limited to flashy watches, CDs and handbags.

These days though, the multi-billion dollar counterfeit industry is branching out, manufacturing everything from cellphone batteries to power cords – all of them knock offs, all of them potentially dangerous because they may not meet Canadian safety standards.

And fake products aren't the only potential danger for consumers.

There's a new trend among counterfeiters: faking the safety labels you normally find on products that have been safety tested.

That means the product itself might not be counterfeit, but the safety labelling on it is – if it bears any safety labelling at all – leaving consumers with the false impression that it's met Canadian standards.

And what's really surprising is that uncertified electrical products aren't just back alley commodities as you might expect – they're turning up in some surprising places, including mainstream retail stores.

Ken Hansen, head of the RCMP's anti-counterfeit squad, says fake safety labelling on electrical products has become a more common trick in the past three years. He's seen phoney safety stickers on everything from glue guns to industrial circuit breakers.

Hansen says the counterfeiters are driven by one thing: profit. "[The products] seem to be certified ... so they can sell them at a much higher price and they'll make a profit. There's probably more profit in doing these types of crimes than there is in illicit drugs... There’s much less risk if you're caught."

Hansen says the bad guys are attracted to the fact that counterfeit safety labelling can expose them to a much larger potential consumer base than the old staples of organized crime:

"Who buys products such as electrical circuit breakers or glue guns or batteries? Everybody does. So your market in Canada is 33 million people."

Bought something with fake labels? If you bought a product that you suspect bears fake safety labels, you're encouraged to report it. If you think the product is a fire hazard, report it to your local fire authority immediately. If the product has what appears to be a fake safety label, report it to the safety authority on the label. These are the most common: Underwriters Laboratories: 1-877-ULHELPS (1-877-854-3577), or on the web. Canadian Standards Association: 1.866.797.4272 or (416) 747-2661, certinfo@csa-international.org, or on the web. Each province/territory has its own authority responsible for interpreting the national safety code - you can also contact your provincial/territorial government if you would like to report a suspicious product/safety label.

Since the counterfeiters don't have to spend money on product research and development, taxes or quality control, they can operate with enormous profits, offering their goods at what might appear to be bargain prices.

But while they may look the same, counterfeit and uncertified products pose a threat because they may not be up to Canadian safety standards, something Newfoundland grandmother Julia Kenny knows all too well.