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Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:06 | |
Welcome to Fake Britain. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:08 | |
Police! | 0:00:09 | 0:00:10 | |
-Get down, get down! -On the floor, now. | 0:00:20 | 0:00:22 | |
Put your hands behind your back, now! | 0:00:22 | 0:00:25 | |
Here at the Fake Britain house, things might look familiar but | 0:00:25 | 0:00:28 | |
don't be taken in, because this is a house which is filled with fakes. | 0:00:28 | 0:00:33 | |
In this series I'll be revealing the counterfeits, | 0:00:33 | 0:00:36 | |
copies and cons that are flooding the market, fooling the public, | 0:00:36 | 0:00:40 | |
making money for the criminals and maybe even putting you in danger. | 0:00:40 | 0:00:44 | |
We'll be investigating those fraudsters who are cashing | 0:00:44 | 0:00:47 | |
in by selling us something that isn't real. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:50 | |
And we'll be showing you how to avoid falling for a fake. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:54 | |
Today on Fake Britain, the counterfeit shampoo hitting | 0:00:56 | 0:00:59 | |
our high streets, and the damage it can cause to those who use it. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:03 | |
You'd itch so vigorously it would make a certain patch bleed. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:10 | |
We reveal the fake scanners that have infiltrated Britain's | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
security industry. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:15 | |
This will be the difference between life and death in some cases. | 0:01:15 | 0:01:19 | |
The counterfeit candles burning a hole in your pocket. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
They spat and they crackled. They were dangerous. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:27 | |
And we unearth the fake metal-detecting gadgets hitting | 0:01:27 | 0:01:31 | |
hobbyists across Britain. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:33 | |
Yeah, I felt a bit shocked that I'd been conned, really. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:36 | |
The UK haircare industry is big business. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:44 | |
We're spending nearly £1.5 billion a year looking | 0:01:44 | 0:01:48 | |
after our crowning glories, | 0:01:48 | 0:01:50 | |
but if you were spending your money on these products | 0:01:50 | 0:01:52 | |
that promise to hydrate, clean, make your hair glossy or | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
control dandruff, well, you'd be wasting it. | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
Every single one is a flaky fake. | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
And that's not all. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:03 | |
As well as parting with your cash for a counterfeit, | 0:02:03 | 0:02:06 | |
there could be worse to come. | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
One of Britain's biggest and bestselling shampoo brands is | 0:02:10 | 0:02:14 | |
Head & Shoulders. Since it hit the shelves in 1961... | 0:02:14 | 0:02:19 | |
'The most effective dandruff shampoo you can buy.' | 0:02:19 | 0:02:23 | |
..this famous anti-dandruff treatment has ranked among the UK's | 0:02:23 | 0:02:27 | |
top five hair products. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:29 | |
But now it seems the fakers want to soak up some of the action. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:33 | |
Leanne McLean, from Cornwall Trading Standards, | 0:02:34 | 0:02:37 | |
is on the trail of suspected counterfeit Head & Shoulders. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:41 | |
The previous day, they made spot checks on local stores, | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
and they may have landed some fakes. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:48 | |
Yesterday we carried out a seizure at two stores, one in Falmouth, | 0:02:50 | 0:02:54 | |
one in Liskeard. That was Devon Trading Standards. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:57 | |
There's another shop on their patch, which I've asked them | 0:02:57 | 0:03:02 | |
to go into and just make sure all the products are off sale. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
The stores in question belong to one of the south-west's | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
largest discount chains, Trago Mills. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:12 | |
The previous day, | 0:03:12 | 0:03:13 | |
Trading Standards seized around 160 bottles of suspected | 0:03:13 | 0:03:17 | |
counterfeit Head & Shoulders from two stores, | 0:03:17 | 0:03:20 | |
including this one in picturesque Falmouth. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:23 | |
So today, with colleague Ben, Leanne's making spot-check | 0:03:25 | 0:03:29 | |
purchases at other discount shops in the area. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:33 | |
They're concerned that other bargain outlets could be using | 0:03:33 | 0:03:36 | |
the same supplier. | 0:03:36 | 0:03:38 | |
We had a complaint about a lady who purchased some | 0:03:38 | 0:03:41 | |
Head & Shoulders shampoo. | 0:03:41 | 0:03:42 | |
We are specifically, today, looking for any Head & Shoulders products or | 0:03:42 | 0:03:46 | |
any other cosmetic products that look suspect, and if we find any, then | 0:03:46 | 0:03:51 | |
we will seize them from the shelves and send them off for further analysis. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:55 | |
The person who sparked off the investigation was Sharon, | 0:03:58 | 0:04:02 | |
when she bought what she thought was some bargain-priced | 0:04:02 | 0:04:05 | |
Head & Shoulders from another discount chain, the 99p Store | 0:04:05 | 0:04:09 | |
in St Austell. | 0:04:09 | 0:04:10 | |
I've been using Head & Shoulders for four years previously, | 0:04:12 | 0:04:16 | |
and obviously when the 99p Stores opened...bargain. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:20 | |
But, instead of fighting dandruff, Sharon's | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
Head & Shoulders seemed to do the exact opposite. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:27 | |
After the third use, I kind of noticed I was getting dandruff, | 0:04:28 | 0:04:33 | |
and that after, you know, a day or so, it would be itchy, | 0:04:33 | 0:04:37 | |
and then it started to get extremely sore. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:40 | |
After using it again for... | 0:04:42 | 0:04:45 | |
I think it was about two weeks, | 0:04:45 | 0:04:48 | |
it still wasn't any better. | 0:04:48 | 0:04:50 | |
Sharon seemed to have an allergic reaction to the | 0:04:50 | 0:04:52 | |
Head & Shoulders brand she'd always loved and trusted. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:56 | |
But the symptoms that came next were a real cause for concern. | 0:04:58 | 0:05:02 | |
You'd itch so vigorously and then it would kind of scab, | 0:05:02 | 0:05:06 | |
and the next time you would itch, it would make a certain patch bleed. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:10 | |
I was quite angry to think that something that I'm | 0:05:12 | 0:05:17 | |
paying my money for is making me sore, itchy. | 0:05:17 | 0:05:21 | |
You feel... | 0:05:23 | 0:05:24 | |
..I don't know, dirty, I suppose, that you're sitting there scratching. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:30 | |
I kind of figured then that something wasn't right with it | 0:05:30 | 0:05:33 | |
and decided to e-mail the 99p Store. | 0:05:33 | 0:05:37 | |
I got back quite a short reply, just to say, | 0:05:38 | 0:05:41 | |
"Please pass along the barcode." | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
So I did that, and I never heard anything back at all, | 0:05:44 | 0:05:48 | |
nothing whatsoever. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:49 | |
It was at this point that Sharon turned to Trading Standards. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:53 | |
They collected two suspect bottles she'd bought and sent them | 0:05:53 | 0:05:57 | |
off for analysis. | 0:05:57 | 0:05:58 | |
Weeks later it was confirmed. She'd bought counterfeits. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:04 | |
Having a sore head and scalp was bad enough, | 0:06:05 | 0:06:09 | |
but to actually have a product make me bleed, | 0:06:09 | 0:06:13 | |
and then I was still using it, | 0:06:13 | 0:06:14 | |
so who knows what the chemicals were that were actually in it | 0:06:14 | 0:06:19 | |
that I'm putting on my head again when I've got an open... | 0:06:19 | 0:06:22 | |
open skin? Its...it's disgusting. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:25 | |
With today's spot purchases completed, | 0:06:29 | 0:06:32 | |
Trading Standards officers Leanne and Ben head back to base. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:37 | |
Here they bag up the samples they'd taken from three major | 0:06:37 | 0:06:40 | |
discount stores in the last two days. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:44 | |
They'll be sent off to the lab for chemical analysis as well, to confirm | 0:06:44 | 0:06:48 | |
100% as to whether they are genuine or counterfeit products. | 0:06:48 | 0:06:51 | |
We should get that back in about a week, | 0:06:51 | 0:06:53 | |
and that should confirm or deny our suspicions. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:56 | |
Later, Cornwall Trading Standards reveal their results. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:03 | |
And Fake Britain reveals exactly what's in the bottle. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:07 | |
What you're essentially putting onto your face and skin, | 0:07:07 | 0:07:10 | |
and that of your family and loved ones, is junk! | 0:07:10 | 0:07:13 | |
We've all seen things like these. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:20 | |
They're used to scan us at airports, sports events and music concerts, | 0:07:20 | 0:07:25 | |
checking to see we're not carrying something we shouldn't. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
Safety and security is a serious business, | 0:07:28 | 0:07:30 | |
and that's what these scanners are designed to ensure. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
So, you may be alarmed to discover that while this one is real... | 0:07:33 | 0:07:37 | |
-HIGH-PITCH BEEPING -..this almost identical one is a fake. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:41 | |
-LOWER-PITCH BEEPING -These are on sale right now. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:44 | |
And they could be putting lives at risk. | 0:07:44 | 0:07:46 | |
Security is big business. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:50 | |
The global industry for services | 0:07:50 | 0:07:52 | |
and devices is predicted to rise to 88 billion | 0:07:52 | 0:07:56 | |
by 2019. | 0:07:56 | 0:07:58 | |
Part of any security team's arsenal | 0:07:59 | 0:08:02 | |
is one of these metal-detecting wands. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:05 | |
The first of these was designed for the Los Angeles Olympic Games | 0:08:05 | 0:08:08 | |
in 1984. | 0:08:08 | 0:08:09 | |
And it's been used in numerous security settings ever since. | 0:08:09 | 0:08:13 | |
But now the fakers have got their eye on this product's success. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:21 | |
Sadly, because of its success, it's been copied by many, | 0:08:21 | 0:08:26 | |
many fake manufacturers. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
Even sadder, they're doing exact copies, and when I say exact, | 0:08:29 | 0:08:33 | |
they're so close you really cannot tell the difference. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
We can't tell the difference until we either turn them on | 0:08:36 | 0:08:38 | |
or look inside them. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:40 | |
Nigel should know. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:43 | |
He distributes security products for many manufacturers. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:47 | |
He started to investigate this when he noticed an increasing | 0:08:48 | 0:08:51 | |
number of these scanners being sent back to him under warranty. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:55 | |
It turned out they were fakes. | 0:08:55 | 0:08:57 | |
We've had confirmed fake ones being used in music festivals, | 0:08:58 | 0:09:03 | |
in warehouses, blue-chip companies, security firms. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:08 | |
Now, that's a potential time bomb, | 0:09:10 | 0:09:12 | |
because we now have lots and lots of fake items out there being used by | 0:09:12 | 0:09:16 | |
professionals, and they have no idea they are using fake super scanners. | 0:09:16 | 0:09:21 | |
It seems most of the counterfeits are being sold online. | 0:09:23 | 0:09:26 | |
And Nigel is going to show us how clever the fakers have been. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:30 | |
Here we have the fake super scanner, | 0:09:33 | 0:09:36 | |
and also a genuine super scanner. | 0:09:36 | 0:09:40 | |
And as you can see, the construction is extremely similar. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:44 | |
The dimensions...exactly the same. | 0:09:44 | 0:09:47 | |
End caps, handles, materials, plastics. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:51 | |
Every tiny little detail is copied. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:54 | |
When you look very closely, though, you can tell everything is creaking. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:58 | |
Groaning. It twists. | 0:09:58 | 0:10:00 | |
In fact, something just popped at the front. | 0:10:00 | 0:10:03 | |
And the whole thing is loose. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:05 | |
How good is the fake at detecting a metallic object that could do | 0:10:05 | 0:10:09 | |
some damage, like this knife? | 0:10:09 | 0:10:12 | |
The genuine super scanner, | 0:10:12 | 0:10:14 | |
HIGH-PITCH BEEPING ..you can see we are picking it up a good 40, 50cm away. | 0:10:14 | 0:10:18 | |
If we now take the fake unit, at 40 or 50cm, | 0:10:21 | 0:10:26 | |
nothing. Absolutely nothing. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
It's only when you get closer... | 0:10:29 | 0:10:30 | |
LOW-PITCH BEEPING ..we are now just getting a signal. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
Its performance is extremely poor by comparison. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:37 | |
You're not going to pick up this object on a lot of occasions. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:41 | |
Well, that's not good enough. It's got to pick it up every single time. | 0:10:41 | 0:10:45 | |
It's extremely worrying. All this is very well in theory. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:50 | |
How will our fake perform in practice? | 0:10:50 | 0:10:53 | |
Fake Britain decided to test this counterfeit security scanner in London, | 0:10:55 | 0:10:59 | |
no stranger to knife and gun crime. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:02 | |
In the last year there have been 11,000 knife-related offences | 0:11:03 | 0:11:07 | |
and just over 1,500 firearms incidents in the city. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
Like many of the capital's late-night music venues, | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
Hootenanny takes security very seriously. | 0:11:16 | 0:11:19 | |
BEEPING | 0:11:19 | 0:11:21 | |
To help in this battle to keep their customers safe, | 0:11:21 | 0:11:24 | |
they use genuine security wands. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:27 | |
News of fakes in circulation is a real concern | 0:11:29 | 0:11:32 | |
for head of security Hazel. | 0:11:32 | 0:11:35 | |
You could be letting anything in your club. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:37 | |
You could be letting in any sort of weapons in your club. Guns, knives. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:40 | |
Really, people need to take note of what they use in their clubs. | 0:11:40 | 0:11:44 | |
So, to put the fake security wand to the test, we'll plant some | 0:11:44 | 0:11:48 | |
potentially dangerous objects on our lucky target, Matt. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:52 | |
Later on he'll visit Hootenanny with a group of friends. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
We have a Swiss Army penknife, which is not classed as an offensive | 0:11:56 | 0:12:00 | |
weapon. However, | 0:12:00 | 0:12:02 | |
could inflict a lot of damage in a number of different ways. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:06 | |
First up, Nigel puts the knife in place. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:09 | |
That's perfect. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:13 | |
Next up, he has a replica gun. | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
It is an internationally recognised test piece for the security industry. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:23 | |
It's an imitation single-shot gun. | 0:12:23 | 0:12:26 | |
Weapons in place, next stop for our target is the venue. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:34 | |
Will the fake pass our security test and detect the weapons? | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
Or will it fail, | 0:12:40 | 0:12:41 | |
potentially putting the lives of everyone inside in danger? | 0:12:41 | 0:12:45 | |
Nigel hands over the fake security wand to the experienced door staff. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:50 | |
They haven't been told | 0:12:50 | 0:12:51 | |
whether they're using the counterfeit or the genuine product. | 0:12:51 | 0:12:55 | |
He sits nearby to monitor the fake's performance. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
Meanwhile, Matt and his pals arrive in line, | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
ready to be scanned before they're allowed in. | 0:13:05 | 0:13:08 | |
So it'll be interesting to see how the fake super scanner gets on here. | 0:13:10 | 0:13:14 | |
First in line is Matt's mate, Tom. | 0:13:15 | 0:13:18 | |
I'm surprised at the distance, though. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:20 | |
He's getting very, very close to the body. | 0:13:20 | 0:13:23 | |
So, the fake has to be used closer to the body than normal. | 0:13:23 | 0:13:26 | |
I can only presume he's having to do this | 0:13:26 | 0:13:28 | |
because the performance is nowhere near as good as the genuine item. | 0:13:28 | 0:13:33 | |
Now it's time for our target, Matt, with his concealed weapons. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:38 | |
LOUD BEEPING | 0:13:41 | 0:13:43 | |
-That's his belt. -The fake seems to be picking up large objects. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:47 | |
BEEPING Phone. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:49 | |
But not so far the knife or the gun. | 0:13:50 | 0:13:52 | |
BEEPING | 0:13:54 | 0:13:55 | |
I think he might be picking up the shoelace eyelets. | 0:13:55 | 0:13:59 | |
Seems like the fake's found something. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
The shoelace eyelets are aluminium. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
And inadvertently, it's actually led him to the fake gun. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:08 | |
The counterfeit scanner's uncovered Matt's replica gun. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:14 | |
But not the knife. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:15 | |
That's a serious breach of security, | 0:14:16 | 0:14:19 | |
and rather worrying, | 0:14:19 | 0:14:21 | |
the consequences of which could be quite severe. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:24 | |
Potentially you've got somebody walking around with | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
a knife in a nightclub. | 0:14:27 | 0:14:28 | |
Now, it doesn't take too much imagination to imagine the | 0:14:28 | 0:14:33 | |
consequences of that knife getting in, and mixed with a little | 0:14:33 | 0:14:37 | |
bit of alcohol as well. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:40 | |
Not very clever at all. Not good. And extremely worrying. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:43 | |
But before Matt can do any real damage, the real | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
super scanner's brought out to reveal what he's really hiding. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:50 | |
BEEPING | 0:14:51 | 0:14:52 | |
LOUD BEEPING | 0:14:55 | 0:14:56 | |
Here we go. Oh, straight to it. | 0:14:56 | 0:14:59 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:14:59 | 0:15:01 | |
BEEPING Yeah, there we go. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:03 | |
LOUD BEEPING That was a huge, huge signal... | 0:15:03 | 0:15:06 | |
that you could hardly miss. He's found it, he's got it. | 0:15:06 | 0:15:11 | |
This could be painful for Matt. | 0:15:11 | 0:15:12 | |
Pull, go. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:14 | |
Ah! | 0:15:14 | 0:15:15 | |
So, the Swiss Army knife, with a three-inch blade, was | 0:15:17 | 0:15:20 | |
missed by the fake. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:22 | |
What does the head of security, Hazel, think of these results? | 0:15:22 | 0:15:26 | |
It shocked me to think that they've got scanners like this on the market. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:30 | |
And people are actually buying them and using them. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:33 | |
This could have caused serious damage. Someone... | 0:15:33 | 0:15:35 | |
Anyone could have started a fight, could have started... | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
Someone could have pulled that out, used it on someone. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:40 | |
We'd have to call the police, ambulance down here. | 0:15:40 | 0:15:43 | |
When if you have the real scanner on your door, | 0:15:43 | 0:15:45 | |
this wouldn't get inside your club. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:47 | |
And what does Nigel make of it all? | 0:15:48 | 0:15:50 | |
This could be the difference between life and death in some cases, | 0:15:52 | 0:15:55 | |
the difference between picking up an offensive weapon, potentially | 0:15:55 | 0:15:59 | |
a gun, a knife, a CS gas canister, or not picking it up at all. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:03 | |
And that's... The potential for that is quite serious. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:06 | |
Earlier we saw Cornwall Trading Standards on the trail of fake | 0:16:15 | 0:16:19 | |
Head & Shoulders shampoo for sale in discount chains... | 0:16:19 | 0:16:23 | |
..and how one corner shopper, Sharon, had suffered after using | 0:16:24 | 0:16:27 | |
a counterfeit that she'd bought from the 99p Store. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:31 | |
To actually have a product make me bleed, it's disgusting. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:36 | |
Trading Standards sent off samples of suspected fakes that they | 0:16:36 | 0:16:39 | |
seized and bought during spot checks in Cornwall. | 0:16:39 | 0:16:43 | |
Now they have the results back from the manufacturer. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:47 | |
We sent off a representative sample of 14 bottles. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:50 | |
Seven of those came back as being counterfeit, which is | 0:16:50 | 0:16:52 | |
a 50% fail rate, which I think shows the scale | 0:16:52 | 0:16:55 | |
of the problem that we have here with counterfeit cosmetic products. | 0:16:55 | 0:16:58 | |
But it's the quality of the counterfeit packaging that's | 0:16:58 | 0:17:01 | |
appalled Cornwall Trading Standards. | 0:17:01 | 0:17:03 | |
This makes it difficult for shoppers, | 0:17:03 | 0:17:05 | |
and the shops, to spot the fakes. | 0:17:05 | 0:17:07 | |
They are extremely good counterfeits. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:11 | |
They look almost identical to the real thing. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
It's not just one small part of the | 0:17:14 | 0:17:17 | |
Head & Shoulders set of shampoos. | 0:17:17 | 0:17:19 | |
It's every different type | 0:17:19 | 0:17:21 | |
they are managing to counterfeit now, and counterfeit very effectively. | 0:17:21 | 0:17:24 | |
Samples of the 160 bottles seized from local discount chain | 0:17:24 | 0:17:29 | |
Trago Mills all turned out to be counterfeit. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:32 | |
But Trading Standards sympathise with the difficulties that | 0:17:32 | 0:17:36 | |
even some retailers have in spotting the fakes. | 0:17:36 | 0:17:39 | |
In this instance the copies were so incredibly good. | 0:17:41 | 0:17:44 | |
The store, in our opinion, had done everything it could to make | 0:17:44 | 0:17:47 | |
sure it wasn't selling counterfeits. | 0:17:47 | 0:17:49 | |
And as such, we have closed the investigation against the store | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
that sold it, by way of providing them | 0:17:52 | 0:17:54 | |
with advice on how to potentially spot counterfeits in the future. | 0:17:54 | 0:17:59 | |
Trago Mills told us they've been established for nearly 50 years | 0:18:00 | 0:18:04 | |
and they build relationships with reputable suppliers and top brands. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:08 | |
They say they purchased this product in good faith from a trusted source | 0:18:08 | 0:18:12 | |
and understood there were a number of wholesalers | 0:18:12 | 0:18:15 | |
and retailers who received it. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:17 | |
They say the counterfeit was so advanced, | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
it took rigorous testing to identify it. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:22 | |
They say they worked closely with the Office of Fair Trading | 0:18:22 | 0:18:25 | |
and that the product was removed from sale. | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
But because of the danger to public health, | 0:18:35 | 0:18:37 | |
the Cornwall Trading Standards investigation remains wide open | 0:18:37 | 0:18:41 | |
to find out who supplied the retailers with the counterfeit | 0:18:41 | 0:18:44 | |
products in the first place. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:46 | |
Even though these bottles look convincing on the outside, | 0:18:46 | 0:18:49 | |
the manufacturer, Procter & Gamble, has sent Leanne | 0:18:49 | 0:18:52 | |
and her team some data about what could be lurking on the inside. | 0:18:52 | 0:18:57 | |
With this particular counterfeit batch of Head & Shoulders shampoo, | 0:18:59 | 0:19:02 | |
they've told us there could be irritation to your breathing, | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
it could be harmful if you swallow any of the product, | 0:19:05 | 0:19:08 | |
it could be irritating to your skin. | 0:19:08 | 0:19:10 | |
They say here, "A risk of serious damage to your eyes." | 0:19:10 | 0:19:14 | |
They've also said it's potentially toxic to wildlife | 0:19:14 | 0:19:16 | |
should it make it into any river courses. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:18 | |
It's quite a serious issue. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:20 | |
This isn't just a cheap product that you're paying too much for, | 0:19:20 | 0:19:24 | |
this could cause you serious damage | 0:19:24 | 0:19:25 | |
and serious health implications for the rest of your life. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:28 | |
But it's not just shoppers in Cornwall | 0:19:28 | 0:19:30 | |
who've risked their health by using fake shampoo. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:33 | |
Our investigation takes us across the Irish Sea, | 0:19:37 | 0:19:40 | |
500 miles away to Antrim in Northern Ireland. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:44 | |
It was at this B&M store ten months previously | 0:19:44 | 0:19:48 | |
that Nicole Patterson bought a bottle of Head & Shoulders. | 0:19:48 | 0:19:51 | |
She used it to wash the hair of her five-year-old daughter Imogen. | 0:19:51 | 0:19:56 | |
The next day, after using it, | 0:19:57 | 0:19:58 | |
it looked like there were particles of paint in her hair. | 0:19:58 | 0:20:01 | |
It wasn't until the second time then that there were | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
instant speckles over her hair. | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
Afterwards, Imogen ended up with the scalp of her head | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
was sort of peeling away. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:14 | |
It wasn't like wee small bits of dandruff, it was big flakes | 0:20:14 | 0:20:18 | |
that would be the size of your small finger coming out of her hair. | 0:20:18 | 0:20:22 | |
So my worry was, "Is my daughter going to be losing her hair here?" | 0:20:22 | 0:20:26 | |
But it wasn't the only symptom troubling five-year-old Imogen. | 0:20:26 | 0:20:29 | |
I said, "Is it sore anywhere?" | 0:20:31 | 0:20:33 | |
She said, "Mummy, it's really itchy." | 0:20:33 | 0:20:35 | |
It wasn't just a wee scratch like that, | 0:20:35 | 0:20:38 | |
it was actually going mad into the head | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
and scratching like crazy. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:42 | |
When I had looked and pulled parts of her hair over, | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
you could see the big flakes coming out. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
Despite receiving medication from her doctor, nearly a year on, | 0:20:48 | 0:20:52 | |
Nicole believes her daughter still has symptoms. | 0:20:52 | 0:20:56 | |
Now, in Imogen's hair, you can actually see, | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
like, speckles of flaky skin coming away. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:02 | |
It is constant, it's coming out from the scalp. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
It just seems to be an ongoing problem. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:08 | |
Nicole's now considering taking her daughter to a dermatologist. | 0:21:08 | 0:21:12 | |
The bottle of Head & Shoulders she bought at B&M | 0:21:12 | 0:21:15 | |
was confirmed to be counterfeit. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:18 | |
I think whenever you go to a reputable store, you don't | 0:21:18 | 0:21:22 | |
expect to walk in and buy counterfeit goods. You don't. | 0:21:22 | 0:21:25 | |
And that does make me really angry, the fact that I went in | 0:21:25 | 0:21:27 | |
and I bought something that was counterfeit and actually used it. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:30 | |
So Nicole made a complaint to Northern Ireland Trading Standards. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:38 | |
And within weeks, officers had seized counterfeit shampoo | 0:21:38 | 0:21:42 | |
at 15 discount stores across the region. | 0:21:42 | 0:21:45 | |
We seized almost 2,000 bottles of the illegal product. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:49 | |
We suspect there was quite a lot of counterfeit shampoo | 0:21:49 | 0:21:52 | |
that appeared right throughout Northern Ireland that quite possibly | 0:21:52 | 0:21:56 | |
has been sold to consumers from these high-street retail premises. | 0:21:56 | 0:22:00 | |
Like the Head & Shoulders seized in Cornwall, it's the quality | 0:22:00 | 0:22:04 | |
of the packaging that's made it so difficult to spot the fakes. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:08 | |
Obviously, as Trading Standards officers, | 0:22:08 | 0:22:10 | |
we would be looking at the packaging. | 0:22:10 | 0:22:11 | |
There's usually telltale signs such as batch codes, product codes, | 0:22:11 | 0:22:15 | |
labelling, spelling mistakes. | 0:22:15 | 0:22:17 | |
All those are key identifiers in showing us that a product is fake. | 0:22:17 | 0:22:22 | |
In this case, there weren't anything. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:24 | |
This batch was seized from seven shops | 0:22:24 | 0:22:26 | |
belonging to the large UK discount chain Home Bargains. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:31 | |
But Trading Standards also made seizures from eight stores | 0:22:31 | 0:22:34 | |
belonging to the chain where Nicole bought her shampoo, B&M. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:38 | |
Again, this is more counterfeit Head & Shoulders product. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:45 | |
Quite a sizeable amount. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
We seized almost 600 bottles from this retailer alone. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:51 | |
Nicole has consulted a solicitor | 0:22:52 | 0:22:54 | |
and is looking at taking out her own legal action. | 0:22:54 | 0:22:58 | |
It makes me angry that Imogen is left like this. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:02 | |
I don't know what the cause is, what was in the shampoo. | 0:23:02 | 0:23:06 | |
And that is my main concern with Imogen. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:09 | |
I don't know what I've put in her hair. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:11 | |
And it affects her ongoing. | 0:23:11 | 0:23:13 | |
And something needs to be done about it. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:17 | |
B&M Retail told us they were shocked to discover | 0:23:18 | 0:23:21 | |
that some counterfeit product had entered the supply chain | 0:23:21 | 0:23:25 | |
from one of the wholesale suppliers of this product. | 0:23:25 | 0:23:28 | |
They say, "As soon as we were made aware, | 0:23:28 | 0:23:31 | |
"the suspect stock was withdrawn from sale across all B&M stores. | 0:23:31 | 0:23:36 | |
"We are actively supporting the Trading Standards service | 0:23:36 | 0:23:39 | |
"to ensure a successful prosecution of the parties responsible | 0:23:39 | 0:23:43 | |
"further up the supply chain. | 0:23:43 | 0:23:45 | |
"This incident is the first in our 30-year history | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
"and we've taken steps to prevent a repeat occurrence." | 0:23:48 | 0:23:51 | |
Fake Britain has sent samples of a bottle | 0:23:55 | 0:23:57 | |
bought by Nicole at B&M in Northern Ireland | 0:23:57 | 0:24:00 | |
and a batch of counterfeit seized by Cornwall Trading Standards | 0:24:00 | 0:24:04 | |
for chemical analysis. | 0:24:04 | 0:24:05 | |
Over two weeks, Loughborough University's chemistry department | 0:24:07 | 0:24:11 | |
has been testing our fake samples | 0:24:11 | 0:24:13 | |
and comparing them with the genuine product. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
The samples need to have nitric acid added to them | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
to prepare them for the series of tests. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:23 | |
Already, the chemists have spotted differences. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:26 | |
The genuine sample turns to a pale, strawy yellow, | 0:24:28 | 0:24:31 | |
while the fake sample remains an opaque white. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:34 | |
My concern is it's not chemically stable. | 0:24:36 | 0:24:38 | |
The fact that there is no change | 0:24:38 | 0:24:40 | |
when we change the pH of the counterfeit | 0:24:40 | 0:24:42 | |
means there probably isn't an acidity regulator in it. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
If there is no acidity regulator present, | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
there's nothing to stop uncontrolled chemical reactions | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
occurring in the bottle, which could produce harmful unknown substances. | 0:24:51 | 0:24:56 | |
Next, they tested for the all-important zinc compound. | 0:25:00 | 0:25:03 | |
This is the active ingredient in the genuine Head & Shoulders | 0:25:03 | 0:25:06 | |
that battles dandruff. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:08 | |
There's practically no zinc in the sample. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:12 | |
What this means is if you bought this shampoo to control dandruff | 0:25:12 | 0:25:17 | |
or to treat dandruff on your hair, | 0:25:17 | 0:25:18 | |
it's actually going to do nothing. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:21 | |
So not only is this shampoo counterfeit, | 0:25:21 | 0:25:24 | |
it's also completely useless. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:26 | |
More alarmingly, in the fakes, Professor Thomas and his team | 0:25:26 | 0:25:30 | |
have uncovered a substance called lilial. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:33 | |
It's a cosmetic ingredient that has health effects. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:40 | |
It's a skin sensitiser and it can hurt you if you're allergic to it. | 0:25:40 | 0:25:44 | |
Under EU regulations, | 0:25:44 | 0:25:46 | |
a known allergen like lilial must be strictly labelled. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:50 | |
This substance can cause contact dermatitis. | 0:25:50 | 0:25:53 | |
If you picked this counterfeit up | 0:25:55 | 0:25:57 | |
and one of your family was sensitive to this product, | 0:25:57 | 0:25:59 | |
to this molecule here, it would hurt you, it would injure you. | 0:25:59 | 0:26:03 | |
You would need a trip to the doctor. | 0:26:03 | 0:26:05 | |
It's reckless and irresponsible to put potentially harmful chemicals | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
into products and not label it correctly. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:15 | |
It is terribly wrong. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:17 | |
But it doesn't stop there. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:19 | |
In the sample Nicole bought, | 0:26:19 | 0:26:21 | |
Loughborough have found another chemical that causes concern. | 0:26:21 | 0:26:24 | |
And it's also not labelled on the bottle. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:27 | |
What we've just found here at ten times the level | 0:26:31 | 0:26:33 | |
that we've seen anything else is diethyl phthalate. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:36 | |
These are gender-bender chemicals. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:40 | |
They affect reproductive health, | 0:26:40 | 0:26:43 | |
certainly in animal studies. | 0:26:43 | 0:26:45 | |
You wouldn't want them in products | 0:26:45 | 0:26:47 | |
that you are putting into close contact with your children. | 0:26:47 | 0:26:51 | |
Professor Thomas and his team also found evidence | 0:26:53 | 0:26:55 | |
of preservatives in the genuine product, | 0:26:55 | 0:26:58 | |
but not in the fakes passed on by Cornwall Trading Standards. | 0:26:58 | 0:27:02 | |
This means the counterfeit shampoo could start degrading | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
soon after manufacture. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:07 | |
The material in the bottle is not stable. It may not be sterile. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:13 | |
You may find bacteria growing in it. | 0:27:13 | 0:27:15 | |
It's a chemical mixture that's not preserved, | 0:27:15 | 0:27:18 | |
that's sitting in your bathroom and is doing what chemicals do. | 0:27:18 | 0:27:22 | |
They're reacting. And that's not safe. | 0:27:22 | 0:27:24 | |
All the retailers involved in selling counterfeits told us | 0:27:26 | 0:27:30 | |
they were unaware that they were selling fakes | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
and that they were shocked to find them in the supply chain. | 0:27:32 | 0:27:35 | |
None of these retail stores face prosecution. | 0:27:35 | 0:27:38 | |
99p Stores told us they were a victim | 0:27:41 | 0:27:43 | |
of this very sophisticated case of counterfeiting. | 0:27:43 | 0:27:47 | |
They say as soon as Trading Standards | 0:27:47 | 0:27:49 | |
brought the matter to their attention, | 0:27:49 | 0:27:51 | |
the stock was withdrawn and handed over to the brand owner. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:55 | |
They say they fully co-operated with the authorities at all times | 0:27:55 | 0:27:58 | |
to find the perpetrator of this fraud. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:01 | |
Home Bargains told us they've been trading for over 35 years | 0:28:01 | 0:28:06 | |
and have never had an incident of this nature. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:08 | |
These products could only be established as counterfeit | 0:28:08 | 0:28:12 | |
by a chemical test, not a test | 0:28:12 | 0:28:14 | |
that any retailer would normally undertake. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:17 | |
They say they had no reason to suspect that the products | 0:28:17 | 0:28:20 | |
were anything but genuine, | 0:28:20 | 0:28:21 | |
a view supported by the authorities who accepted that the company | 0:28:21 | 0:28:25 | |
had acted entirely responsibly. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:27 | |
They say as soon as the issue was brought to their attention, | 0:28:27 | 0:28:31 | |
an immediate product recall was put in place and customers were | 0:28:31 | 0:28:34 | |
advised to return the counterfeit products for a full refund. | 0:28:34 | 0:28:38 | |
They say it's clear that both Home Bargains and its customers | 0:28:38 | 0:28:41 | |
were the victims of a very sophisticated fraudulent operation. | 0:28:41 | 0:28:45 | |
Cornwall Trading Standards believe their recent seizures | 0:28:48 | 0:28:51 | |
of fake shampoo reveal a bigger picture that needs investigating. | 0:28:51 | 0:28:55 | |
The seizure shows a big problem, as far as we're concerned, | 0:28:57 | 0:28:59 | |
with the discount retailer section of the market. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:02 | |
And we're going to recommend a national project be put together | 0:29:02 | 0:29:05 | |
to look into the supply chain to them | 0:29:05 | 0:29:07 | |
to further protect the public from counterfeit products. | 0:29:07 | 0:29:11 | |
Professor Thomas is also alarmed by the fact that fake shampoo | 0:29:11 | 0:29:15 | |
is being sold on the high street. | 0:29:15 | 0:29:17 | |
When you buy shampoo, you're buying a lot of technology in that bottle. | 0:29:17 | 0:29:21 | |
It is a really highly specified piece of kit. | 0:29:21 | 0:29:25 | |
There's as much science and know-how going into modern shampoos | 0:29:25 | 0:29:29 | |
and personal care products as you'd expect to find | 0:29:29 | 0:29:31 | |
in advanced consumer electronics. | 0:29:31 | 0:29:33 | |
And now we have what is essentially irresponsible practice where | 0:29:33 | 0:29:38 | |
they're throwing in mixtures of chemicals | 0:29:38 | 0:29:40 | |
in an unregulated, uncontrolled, unmanaged way | 0:29:40 | 0:29:43 | |
and what you're essentially putting onto your face and skin | 0:29:43 | 0:29:46 | |
and that of your family and loved ones is junk. | 0:29:46 | 0:29:48 | |
Sit back, relax. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:00 | |
Enjoy being part of one of the fastest-growing markets in Britain. | 0:30:00 | 0:30:04 | |
These are luxury scented candles, and sales have rocketed. | 0:30:04 | 0:30:09 | |
It's an industry worth an estimated £90 million a year in the UK. | 0:30:09 | 0:30:14 | |
With numbers like that, it's no surprise that the fakers | 0:30:14 | 0:30:18 | |
can smell an opportunity to grab a piece of a very lucrative business. | 0:30:18 | 0:30:23 | |
When it comes to a good night in, there are a few key ingredients. | 0:30:23 | 0:30:29 | |
A good meal, a little bit of mood music, soft lighting. | 0:30:29 | 0:30:32 | |
And the best way to get that is through one of these, | 0:30:32 | 0:30:35 | |
a luxury scented candle. | 0:30:35 | 0:30:37 | |
It's an increasingly popular product which appeals to | 0:30:37 | 0:30:41 | |
people like new mum Suzy, from Lydham in Shropshire. | 0:30:41 | 0:30:45 | |
When she recently spotted some well-priced, small, | 0:30:46 | 0:30:48 | |
luxury scented candles online, | 0:30:48 | 0:30:51 | |
she thought they would make ideal presents for her friends. | 0:30:51 | 0:30:54 | |
The candles were advertised as being made by upmarket | 0:30:54 | 0:30:57 | |
British beauty label Jo Malone. | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
They were advertised as genuine Jo Malone candles | 0:31:01 | 0:31:04 | |
and the seller had quite a few of them. | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
And the picture looked like proper Jo Malone standards. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:11 | |
And they just looked absolutely beautiful. | 0:31:11 | 0:31:13 | |
At £17.95 each, the candles weren't cheap, | 0:31:13 | 0:31:17 | |
but it was still less than their usual retail price of £22. | 0:31:17 | 0:31:21 | |
She bought four. | 0:31:21 | 0:31:23 | |
But when the candles arrived, Suzy was thrown by her Jo Malone. | 0:31:23 | 0:31:27 | |
I opened it all up and I just felt overwhelming disappointment. | 0:31:30 | 0:31:35 | |
If you'd run your finger across the top of the glass, | 0:31:35 | 0:31:38 | |
you would have cut your finger because it was uneven. | 0:31:38 | 0:31:40 | |
The wax in the candle itself wasn't nice and level and even, | 0:31:40 | 0:31:43 | |
like you'd expect. It was bumpy. And the wick wasn't central. | 0:31:43 | 0:31:46 | |
It was very, very obvious that they weren't right at all. | 0:31:46 | 0:31:50 | |
Suzy immediately suspected she'd been sold a fake. | 0:31:50 | 0:31:54 | |
And her suspicions deepened when she put the candles into action. | 0:31:54 | 0:31:58 | |
I decided to have a romantic night in. And I decided to put these | 0:32:00 | 0:32:03 | |
candles out across the windowsill, with some other candles which I had, | 0:32:03 | 0:32:06 | |
thinking, "Well, they smell OK." | 0:32:06 | 0:32:09 | |
So I lit them, and the smell, it smelt like furniture polish. | 0:32:09 | 0:32:12 | |
What happened was they spat and they crackled. | 0:32:12 | 0:32:15 | |
They were dangerous. | 0:32:15 | 0:32:17 | |
Luckily, buying through PayPal, Susie had purchase insurance. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:23 | |
And she managed to get her money back and the seller barred. | 0:32:23 | 0:32:26 | |
But she's not the only candle-lover to be duped. | 0:32:26 | 0:32:29 | |
In fact, Jo Malone candles have become a key | 0:32:29 | 0:32:32 | |
brand for the fakers to rip off... | 0:32:32 | 0:32:35 | |
as Sussex Police recently found out. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:37 | |
They were tipped off about some suspect Jo Malone candles | 0:32:38 | 0:32:41 | |
being sold at a local craft fair. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:45 | |
Graham Miles eventually raided the house of the people running | 0:32:45 | 0:32:48 | |
the stall, and he was astonished by what he found. | 0:32:48 | 0:32:52 | |
Everything on this table are the items that were seized from the home address of one of our subjects. | 0:32:54 | 0:32:59 | |
Lots and lots of Canopy candles. Very much like this. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:02 | |
I think it's 250-odd. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:05 | |
These larger Jo Malone candles usually retail for £39 each. | 0:33:05 | 0:33:11 | |
But the fakes are considerably cheaper to produce. | 0:33:11 | 0:33:14 | |
Graham estimates it at around £3.50 a pop. | 0:33:14 | 0:33:17 | |
In here you can see reels and reels of labels, various types. | 0:33:18 | 0:33:23 | |
On this one you've got the arrow that tells you to | 0:33:23 | 0:33:26 | |
open up the label to see more information inside. | 0:33:26 | 0:33:28 | |
But there is nothing behind it, there's no back to that label. | 0:33:28 | 0:33:31 | |
That's one way you can tell it's a counterfeit. | 0:33:31 | 0:33:34 | |
And the candle fakers had big plans for the future. | 0:33:34 | 0:33:37 | |
Along with labels and the candles themselves, | 0:33:37 | 0:33:40 | |
police found a staggering 26 boxes of metal lids. | 0:33:40 | 0:33:44 | |
This is the kind of quantity we are looking at. | 0:33:44 | 0:33:46 | |
Metal lids, all engraved with the Jo Malone name. | 0:33:46 | 0:33:50 | |
Something like 5,000 of them. | 0:33:50 | 0:33:52 | |
This person was operating on a large scale, | 0:33:53 | 0:33:56 | |
and was really making some quite significant profit, | 0:33:56 | 0:34:00 | |
none of which, of course, they were declaring to the Inland Revenue. | 0:34:00 | 0:34:03 | |
And at the same time they were claiming benefits. | 0:34:03 | 0:34:06 | |
We believe they have been buying the various | 0:34:09 | 0:34:11 | |
parts for the candle at a total price of about £3.50 per candle. | 0:34:11 | 0:34:16 | |
So if they are then sold for £15, | 0:34:16 | 0:34:19 | |
that's £10 on every candle profit that they've made. | 0:34:19 | 0:34:22 | |
People that we've investigated have told customers | 0:34:22 | 0:34:26 | |
they're seconds or rejects. Jo Malone don't sell seconds or rejects. | 0:34:26 | 0:34:29 | |
Any items that don't meet their standard never reach any | 0:34:29 | 0:34:32 | |
kind of market at all. | 0:34:32 | 0:34:34 | |
The people Graham arrested in connection with the candles | 0:34:34 | 0:34:36 | |
were running a secret cottage industry. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:39 | |
They'd order cheap, unbranded candles from a manufacturer, | 0:34:39 | 0:34:43 | |
get fake labels printed and then add the specially engraved lids | 0:34:43 | 0:34:47 | |
and ribbons to make the candles appear like the real thing. | 0:34:47 | 0:34:51 | |
But it's not just financially that you could be losing out. | 0:34:52 | 0:34:56 | |
The candles aren't just cheap imitations, they can be dangerous. | 0:34:56 | 0:35:00 | |
Previous tests by Trading Standards on fake Jo Malones have | 0:35:00 | 0:35:04 | |
seen the glass the candle comes in explode when lit. | 0:35:04 | 0:35:08 | |
Graham Miles has a message for anyone faking candles, | 0:35:08 | 0:35:11 | |
or any other luxury goods. | 0:35:11 | 0:35:14 | |
These are serious offences that police | 0:35:14 | 0:35:16 | |
and other bodies are investigating. | 0:35:16 | 0:35:18 | |
They do carry serious sentences, | 0:35:18 | 0:35:20 | |
and the people doing it are committing money laundering offences as well, which can carry | 0:35:20 | 0:35:24 | |
penalties up to 14 years, | 0:35:24 | 0:35:26 | |
so these are serious offences. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:28 | |
Today, though, the law's finally caught up with | 0:35:29 | 0:35:31 | |
the counterfeiters that Graham's team's been investigating. | 0:35:31 | 0:35:34 | |
At Lewes Crown Court, in Sussex, one of them | 0:35:36 | 0:35:38 | |
received a 12-month sentence for conspiracy to manufacture, | 0:35:38 | 0:35:42 | |
and another received 270 hours of community service | 0:35:42 | 0:35:45 | |
for conspiracy to sell counterfeit goods. | 0:35:45 | 0:35:48 | |
We're sending a message, as with any kind of sentence, | 0:35:51 | 0:35:53 | |
to put other people off from doing it. It does affect everybody, | 0:35:53 | 0:35:56 | |
the breaching of trademark offences. We all buy branded goods. | 0:35:56 | 0:35:59 | |
If those goods are getting manufactured by others, it impacts | 0:35:59 | 0:36:02 | |
upon the price we pay, it impacts on the quality of the product we get. | 0:36:02 | 0:36:05 | |
I think it's important that people are put off from counterfeiting | 0:36:05 | 0:36:08 | |
those things. | 0:36:08 | 0:36:09 | |
Earlier, we saw these, | 0:36:14 | 0:36:16 | |
fake hand-held scanners that have infiltrated the security industry. | 0:36:16 | 0:36:19 | |
Well, now the fakers are trying to cash in on the boom in | 0:36:19 | 0:36:23 | |
metal detecting. Detectorists also use a type a scanner. | 0:36:23 | 0:36:27 | |
This one's called a pinpoint probe, | 0:36:27 | 0:36:29 | |
and they hope it will track down that elusive bit of treasure. | 0:36:29 | 0:36:32 | |
But, with this probe, | 0:36:32 | 0:36:34 | |
you won't be making any great historical discoveries, | 0:36:34 | 0:36:36 | |
because, as you may have guessed at the Fake Britain house, | 0:36:36 | 0:36:40 | |
it's a phoney. | 0:36:40 | 0:36:41 | |
Metal detecting is a popular pastime for treasure seekers up | 0:36:42 | 0:36:46 | |
and down the land. | 0:36:46 | 0:36:48 | |
See what we can find today. Could be our lucky day. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:52 | |
In Britain, there are around 20,000 dedicated metal detectorists. | 0:36:52 | 0:36:58 | |
BEEPING There you go. Pound coin. I'm rich. | 0:36:58 | 0:37:01 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:37:01 | 0:37:04 | |
Today, Armando and his friends are out in the green fields of Bedfordshire, | 0:37:04 | 0:37:08 | |
hoping to find that pot of gold. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:11 | |
A nice hair clip. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:15 | |
OK, it's not exactly the Lost Ark of the Covenant, but in fact | 0:37:15 | 0:37:19 | |
this is par for the cause for any experienced metal detectorist. | 0:37:19 | 0:37:23 | |
So, any new gadget that can help put you one step ahead in finding | 0:37:23 | 0:37:27 | |
that elusive bit of treasure is a must-have. | 0:37:27 | 0:37:31 | |
BEEPING | 0:37:31 | 0:37:33 | |
And that's where hand-held devices like these pinpoint probes come in. | 0:37:33 | 0:37:38 | |
Your traditional clunky metal detector will warn you | 0:37:38 | 0:37:40 | |
when something's down there, but it's more difficult to find your | 0:37:40 | 0:37:44 | |
target without a probe like this, to pinpoint its exact location. | 0:37:44 | 0:37:48 | |
BEEPING | 0:37:49 | 0:37:52 | |
So that's showing it's right on the surface. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:56 | |
There you go. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:57 | |
There's another 5p. | 0:37:57 | 0:37:59 | |
Yeah, he's not ready to retire just yet. | 0:37:59 | 0:38:02 | |
The fakers are now targeting the untapped gold in metal detecting, | 0:38:04 | 0:38:09 | |
as Armando found out | 0:38:09 | 0:38:11 | |
when he bought his first pinpoint probe online for £77. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:15 | |
I got it out the packaging, it looked great. | 0:38:18 | 0:38:21 | |
I tested it on the kitchen table at home. Put some coins on the table. | 0:38:23 | 0:38:26 | |
And it just didn't work very well. | 0:38:26 | 0:38:29 | |
I was just getting a single tone, | 0:38:29 | 0:38:31 | |
and it wasn't an increasing tone as I got nearer the coin. | 0:38:31 | 0:38:36 | |
BEEPING | 0:38:36 | 0:38:37 | |
I was a bit concerned as to why it wasn't working properly. | 0:38:37 | 0:38:41 | |
Realising something wasn't right, Armando did some digging, | 0:38:41 | 0:38:44 | |
and visited a metal detecting shop. | 0:38:44 | 0:38:47 | |
There he unearthed the truth behind this faulty probe. | 0:38:47 | 0:38:50 | |
I'd shown it to the gentleman in the shop there, | 0:38:52 | 0:38:55 | |
and he confirmed it wasn't a genuine Pro-Pointer, it was a fake. | 0:38:55 | 0:38:59 | |
I didn't realise there were fakes out there. | 0:39:00 | 0:39:03 | |
I didn't even consider it when I purchased it, but, um, | 0:39:03 | 0:39:06 | |
yeah, I felt a bit shocked that I'd been conned, really. | 0:39:06 | 0:39:09 | |
Fortunately for Armando, | 0:39:09 | 0:39:11 | |
he'd paid for his pinpoint probe using PayPal. | 0:39:11 | 0:39:14 | |
So, he could prove his purchase was a fake | 0:39:14 | 0:39:17 | |
and eventually get his money back. | 0:39:17 | 0:39:19 | |
But the UK distributor, Regton, has unearthed many other buyers who haven't | 0:39:21 | 0:39:25 | |
been quite so lucky. | 0:39:25 | 0:39:27 | |
We're seeing a definite increase in the number of fake Pro-Pointers, | 0:39:28 | 0:39:32 | |
pinpoint probes, accessories, | 0:39:32 | 0:39:35 | |
metal detectors worldwide. | 0:39:35 | 0:39:37 | |
And this is a global problem. It's impacting on our own industry. | 0:39:37 | 0:39:41 | |
It's leading to distrust. | 0:39:41 | 0:39:43 | |
The prices charged by the fakers are luring people into their trap. | 0:39:43 | 0:39:48 | |
Confusingly, the fake Pro-Pointers are selling for a similar | 0:39:49 | 0:39:53 | |
price to the genuine Pro-Pointers. | 0:39:53 | 0:39:56 | |
And because of that, again, it's | 0:39:56 | 0:39:57 | |
very difficult to tell the real McCoy from the fake. | 0:39:57 | 0:40:01 | |
Nigel's holding two seemingly identical probes. | 0:40:01 | 0:40:05 | |
However, one is genuine, the other is a fake. | 0:40:05 | 0:40:08 | |
So how do you spot the good penny from the bad? | 0:40:08 | 0:40:11 | |
They're extremely cleverly copied, and very, | 0:40:13 | 0:40:17 | |
very difficult to tell apart. Even we struggle. | 0:40:17 | 0:40:19 | |
The construction is almost identical. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:22 | |
However, there are some subtle differences. | 0:40:22 | 0:40:24 | |
If I pressed the on-off button on the genuine Pro-Pointer... | 0:40:24 | 0:40:28 | |
BEEPING ..it turns on immediately, very easy, | 0:40:28 | 0:40:30 | |
whereas on the fake Pro-Pointer, I have to really push... | 0:40:30 | 0:40:33 | |
SOFTER BEEPING ..hard and it's extremely stiff, | 0:40:33 | 0:40:36 | |
and straightaway you can tell there's a difference in tone. | 0:40:36 | 0:40:39 | |
And it's not just the probe itself that's fake. | 0:40:39 | 0:40:41 | |
They're also faking the manuals, boxes and warranty paperwork. | 0:40:41 | 0:40:46 | |
The fake warranty form, to all intents | 0:40:46 | 0:40:48 | |
and purposes, is exactly the same as the genuine Garrett warranty form. | 0:40:48 | 0:40:52 | |
We would struggle, and we see them every day. | 0:40:52 | 0:40:54 | |
To truly reveal the differences between the genuine | 0:40:55 | 0:40:58 | |
and the fake pinpoint probes, | 0:40:58 | 0:41:00 | |
though, Nigel is going to test them where they belong, out in the field. | 0:41:00 | 0:41:04 | |
What I've got here is a George III half gold guinea. | 0:41:08 | 0:41:13 | |
Brave! | 0:41:13 | 0:41:14 | |
Nigel buries his gold guinea into a hole that he's prepared earlier. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:18 | |
So what happens when he tries out the genuine probe? | 0:41:18 | 0:41:21 | |
So we're searching around the hole for the target. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:27 | |
BEEPING And as we can hear, it's... | 0:41:27 | 0:41:31 | |
just up here, | 0:41:31 | 0:41:32 | |
and as we get close to the target... | 0:41:32 | 0:41:34 | |
BEEPING QUICKENS ..it increases in intensity, until... | 0:41:34 | 0:41:36 | |
CONSISTENT TONE ..you get a solid tone when you're more or less on top of the target. | 0:41:36 | 0:41:40 | |
And you only get that with the genuine Pro-Pointer. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:43 | |
How will the fake fare? | 0:41:43 | 0:41:46 | |
And... | 0:41:46 | 0:41:47 | |
..if we can switch it on... | 0:41:48 | 0:41:50 | |
BEEP That's got it. That's very, very stiff. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:53 | |
And again we go around the hole. | 0:41:53 | 0:41:55 | |
BEEPING | 0:41:57 | 0:41:58 | |
It's only when I touch the target that I am managing to get a signal. | 0:41:58 | 0:42:03 | |
And in fact there's no rising tone. | 0:42:03 | 0:42:05 | |
BEEPING It's just a bleep. Waste of time. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:09 | |
Sorry. | 0:42:09 | 0:42:11 | |
It seems this fake probe is, | 0:42:11 | 0:42:13 | |
as they say in the world of metal detecting, a heart-stopper, | 0:42:13 | 0:42:16 | |
a find that looks very exciting but later turns out to be junk. | 0:42:16 | 0:42:20 | |
People are spending good money on these pieces of kit, | 0:42:24 | 0:42:27 | |
and unfortunately they're just totally a waste of money, | 0:42:27 | 0:42:31 | |
a real waste of money. And you really don't want to go with these at all. | 0:42:31 | 0:42:36 | |
They're pathetic! | 0:42:36 | 0:42:37 | |
Nigel's advice for anyone wishing to buy a metal detector? | 0:42:37 | 0:42:41 | |
I would suggest you contact any of the manufacturers, ask them | 0:42:41 | 0:42:45 | |
who their distributor is for the UK, and that distributor can then put | 0:42:45 | 0:42:49 | |
you in touch with the local dealer, who is authorised to sell their products. | 0:42:49 | 0:42:53 | |
That's all from Fake Britain. Goodbye. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:01 |