0:00:03 > 0:00:07Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12- Police!- Police officers! Stay where you are!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24You're under arrest.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29In this series, I'll investigate the world of the criminals
0:00:29 > 0:00:32who make their money at your expense.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36I'll be showing you how not to get ripped off. Coming up,
0:00:36 > 0:00:41a wake-up call for those trading fakes online from the comfort of home.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Police!
0:00:44 > 0:00:47- Move back. - Move back now! Move back!
0:00:47 > 0:00:51On the back of a lorry, the fake vodka factory on the A64.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55This is crazy. It's eight bottles every ten seconds.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58And dud suds that would give you a rash.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02A private eye tracks them from China to Chester.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06I'm a consumer and that leaves the consumer with no chance whatsoever.
0:01:11 > 0:01:17Here at Fake Britain, we are always shocked at the fakes that threaten our safety in our very own home,
0:01:17 > 0:01:23but those very same criminals that make those fakes are also affecting jobs of people here in the UK.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26We are world leaders in fashion,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30but Cool Britannia is being undercut by Copycat China!
0:01:33 > 0:01:3930 years ago, designer label Karen Millen started off with £100 and a lot of hope.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Today, they have over 100 stores worldwide,
0:01:42 > 0:01:47employing thousands of people - a British success story.
0:01:47 > 0:01:53The problem is, within days of putting a design on a catwalk, fakes are run up and put online.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Dawn in Birmingham - too early for fashionistas,
0:02:00 > 0:02:05but 24 officers are preparing to raid an ordinary-looking home that keeps up with fashion
0:02:05 > 0:02:09by shipping in lots of parcels from Chinese sweat shops.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13We've traced a couple of people importing counterfeit goods
0:02:13 > 0:02:16from China in the designer brand of Karen Millen.
0:02:16 > 0:02:22It's a family operation. We've done some test purchases which have confirmed the dress as counterfeit.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27It's a very poor quality of what the real Karen Millen garment would be.
0:02:27 > 0:02:33Karen Millen employs a considerable amount of people and there's the risk and loss of their jobs.
0:02:33 > 0:02:39We all know what the current climate is like. It's a loss to Karen Millen of £250,000 in the last 90 days,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41so it is quite substantial.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45- Open the door!- Someone's in, but they're not opening.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49If you don't open the door, the door is going to get forced.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53- Are they being forthcoming?- Yeah, he's coming down by the look of it.
0:02:53 > 0:02:59They're given 20 seconds. Any longer and they could be destroying vital computer evidence.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Time's up.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Police!
0:03:08 > 0:03:12- Move back.- Move the dogs back. - Move back now. Move back!
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Dogs barking! Move back!
0:03:15 > 0:03:16Move back.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20This is a bad day to be a house-sitter.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25- They're in Spain?- Yeah. - How did they go to Spain...? - They should be back today.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30After all this, a bewildered house-sitter says the suspects are in Spain,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32but that doesn't stop the search.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41OK, so we've got more dresses from Karen Millen.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45This looks pretty much like a bridal type outfit,
0:03:45 > 0:03:51all tagged up with the Karen Millen garments, so very desirable for wedding type events.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56These fakes are being sold at close to the price of the genuine article.
0:03:56 > 0:04:02They're selling these items between £60 and £90, so people are still having to pay a lot of money
0:04:02 > 0:04:06for what they think to be genuine garments when they're getting fakes.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09That's Karen Millen leather boots.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13We have found approximately 300 to 400 dresses that we know of.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17The officers are still looking through more up there.
0:04:17 > 0:04:23A few years ago, crooks had to brave markets and pubs to flog fakes. Not any more.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28The internet makes it easy to set up in a nice residential property trading from home.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Nobody would know the difference.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34No-one knows what's going on inside a premises.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39They're running their own business from a laptop and the items are bought and just shipped.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44It's a busy little house. The postal records show business is booming.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48There's been hundreds and hundreds of people purchasing from them
0:04:48 > 0:04:51and these individuals have made a lot of money.
0:04:51 > 0:04:57We're aware that they're buying property in Spain, but we'll have ongoing inquiries with that.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01The courts may seize the money going on that place in the sun.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Things just got worse for the house-sitter.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08He's now under arrest for a sneaky text to the couple in Spain.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12They've notified them in Spain
0:05:12 > 0:05:17and they then sent a message back to the UK to the young lad to remove items out of their house.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Unfortunately, someone's already doing that.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24This is a package that's just arrived from China.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27And collecting the post.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31The bottom line with the internet is that nobody can see you.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35At the same time, nobody knows that we're watching the criminals.
0:05:35 > 0:05:41With all this evidence, these traders may end up somewhere rather different to their place in the sun.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55In rolling fields just outside Scarborough, police get a tip-off
0:05:55 > 0:06:00about a group of Eastern European men acting suspiciously.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Surveillance confirms their concerns, but when officers return with a warrant,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08the lock-up is deserted and empty.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10What were they up to?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Curiously, a massive truck is parked up nearby
0:06:15 > 0:06:20and investigators are not prepared for what's inside.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Where do I start?
0:06:29 > 0:06:32This is crazy.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38The East Europeans have loaded their entire fake vodka factory into a getaway truck.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46We've clearly got a vodka manufacturing plant.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51We can see that from the bottles, from the Smirnoff and the Glen's Vodka as well.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56We have the vats which are full of vodka which is ready to be put into the bottles there.
0:06:56 > 0:07:02At least 12 vats full of the vodka. That's going to make a lot of vodka.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Boxes ready to go.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08There's absolutely hundreds, if not thousands.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13So we've got all of them over there, all of these at the top, including these cases as well.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17These are all full of the boxes ready to be used
0:07:17 > 0:07:20to package the bottles up.
0:07:20 > 0:07:26We need to get the items examined, to have them sampled to see what is in the contents of each bottle.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31It could be dangerous. It could be a risk to the health of the community.
0:07:31 > 0:07:37We don't want that getting out into the community cos you never know what could happen.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42Every year in Eastern Europe where this gang come from, thousands fall ill or die from fake vodka.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47The question for Dave is how much has already been sold.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52It's not just one bottle every five minutes. It's eight bottles every ten seconds.
0:07:52 > 0:07:58We don't know where these items have been sold, if they've been doing this for several months.
0:07:58 > 0:08:04There may be a host of bottles in the shops, pubs and bars of the local area. That's a massive health issue.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Worryingly, most vodka is drunk with mixers,
0:08:07 > 0:08:12covering up for the rough and unsanitary way this is made.
0:08:12 > 0:08:18It's clearly a professional business. There is lots and lots and lots of money being made out of this.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22Eventually, David's team trace the man renting the premises,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25but he and all the others escaped back to Eastern Europe.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28This appears to be the bottling area.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32No-one has yet called, asking for their vodka factory back.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- This'll be it here.- Yeah.- Customs!
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Later, we'll visit the shops willing to sell this stuff.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41We don't know what's in it.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53A large box of washing powder like this can cost over £10,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56so it's no surprise that criminals tried to clean up
0:08:56 > 0:09:00by churning out thousands of fake boxes of this well-known brand.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06Their only problem was that undercover detectives were following them from China to Chester.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Richard Brayford and his gang are totally unaware
0:09:11 > 0:09:14a private detective is taking this footage of them.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17They reckon they passed the brilliance test,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21shipping 25 tonnes of nasty washing powder all the way from China.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25They planned to put it into fake boxes of a top brand,
0:09:25 > 0:09:29but Persil's detectives were on to the dud suds.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32The investigation had been going on for some time.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36It's a unique set of circumstances to be sat at your desk,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40receiving a telephone call from the legal team at Unilever,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43advising us that they've got a team of investigators
0:09:43 > 0:09:48tracking washing powder from China to Winsford in Cheshire.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50A very, very bizarre situation.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56Having landed in Britain, the undercover detectives manage
0:09:56 > 0:10:00to keep track of the consignment as it heads off on the back of a lorry.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05All they could do was follow. For a raid, they would need Trading Standards.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11It was vital that they let it unfold. They had very good intelligence.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16They knew that the powder was coming into the country separately from the packaging.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20It was important to wait until it was married up with the packaging.
0:10:20 > 0:10:26Once that white powder goes into the packaging, there are offences. It's passed off as Persil washing powder.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30With boxes and powder now together in one warehouse,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32it was time for the raid.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38It was bizarre going through the door. It was a huge warehouse. In one corner, a mountain of sacks.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42A bit further along, an area where the boxes were being built.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Further on again where the boxes were being filled
0:10:46 > 0:10:50and finally, in one corner, pallet loads all ready to go.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53You can see for yourself it's incredibly difficult.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Here is the counterfeit packaging. Here is the real thing.
0:10:57 > 0:11:03Could you tell the difference between those two on the supermarket shelf? I'd certainly struggle.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06The other key item was the difference in the handles.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11There's a very small gap in the handle where the rivet's put in on the real thing.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16On the fake, it's much larger, but they are incredibly minor differences.
0:11:16 > 0:11:22I'm a consumer and I would say that leaves the consumer with no chance whatsoever.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27The powder was tested and that told us it was virtually useless as a washing agent.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31As is normal, the money gets spent on the eye-catching packaging.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34The powder was of a very low quality.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39Insufficient money was spent on the detergent and lower quality materials were used
0:11:39 > 0:11:42which could damage washing machines and be a skin irritant.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47The Persil plot had been foiled.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51In court, Richard Brayford was all washed up and jailed for two years.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Three others also went to prison.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00Thanks to those whiter-than-white private eyes, not a single fake packet ever reached our shelves.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04It's the sort of evidence you dream of having.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08For a private investigator to turn up on your doorstep
0:12:08 > 0:12:13and show you video footage of the consignment arriving, it was first-class.
0:12:18 > 0:12:24This investigator deals with fakes that kill over 200,000 people a year.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27His job is to stop them entering Britain.
0:12:28 > 0:12:35In parts of Asia, up to half the pills for many life-threatening illnesses are now counterfeit.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41The consequences are deadly and don't think it couldn't happen to you.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48A secretly located basement in central London shows
0:12:48 > 0:12:52how the criminals are now breaking into the British market.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Nimo Ahmed is head of intelligence
0:12:54 > 0:12:59at the organisation charged with stopping the deadly fakes bound for Britain.
0:12:59 > 0:13:05This is Casodex, a cancer medicine to treat prostate cancer, and we found 10,000 fake packs.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09We have found fake statins for people at high risk of heart attack.
0:13:09 > 0:13:16This is a very serious medicine that treats schizophrenia and we found 20,000 fake packs.
0:13:16 > 0:13:22We found 35,000 packs of this medicine which is to treat patients after heart surgery.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Ten dangerous batches of fake medicine have now broken through
0:13:26 > 0:13:29into the NHS prescription system,
0:13:29 > 0:13:35but most in this packed storeroom have been seized from rogue online websites.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39In their naivety, they go on the internet and think,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43"That's the medication I take. I can save all the hassle.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45"I'll purchase it off the internet."
0:13:45 > 0:13:51The front page shows someone with a stethoscope to appear legitimate, as if a doctor's behind the dispensing.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56But that's not the case. As you've seen from the raids we've been on,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59they could be in the back of a car garage, in someone's kitchen,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03they could be mixed up with all sorts of other unhygienic conditions.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08Because we trust our medicine in Britain, the worry is fakes could kill someone
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and never be linked to the cause of death.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17We don't know of any cases in the UK where somebody has died or become seriously ill from fake medicine.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21That's not to say it hasn't happened, but it's very difficult to diagnose.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27A British death is the last thing this team want confirmed.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31It's dawn and a fake medicine website is about to get a rude awakening.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36So we're heading out to visit a number of addresses across the borough
0:14:36 > 0:14:41which we've got reason to believe are linked to a Pakistani organised gang
0:14:41 > 0:14:45who are supplying counterfeit medicines into the UK.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49We'll rejoin the team when they are ready for that early morning knock.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Police, let us in!
0:14:57 > 0:14:59Hello! Customs.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03In Liverpool, customs officers are gobsmacked by the shops
0:15:03 > 0:15:06who think they can get away with selling fake booze and fags.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11There's a fair amount of stock in here. There's more in here as well.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14We've got a dozen bottles of Smirnoff here.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19There is more just about everywhere. They even sleep with it.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23There are tell-tale signs with regard to tax stamps.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28For example, this one, in particular, the duty tax stamp peels off
0:15:28 > 0:15:31which indicates it's a non-legitimate product,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33giving us the right to seize it.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35There's whisky or vodka.
0:15:37 > 0:15:45Officers are acting on a tip-off from rival stores being undercut by this place's fake fags and booze.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Oh, here we go.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50- These are non-legitimate...- Polish.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54They're not legitimate UK manufactured cigarettes.
0:15:54 > 0:15:5710,000, so we've got 20,000 cigarettes so far.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01There's more to this shop than its sign claims.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05I would estimate there's about 100 cases of vodka, 100 cases of whisky.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10It's completely disproportionate to the size of this little corner shop.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15It just isn't credible for the amount of business that he'll do.
0:16:15 > 0:16:21The gentleman's just said he's selling it for about £11.99 which is a counterfeit product.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Shamelessly, this shop charges almost full price for fakes.
0:16:25 > 0:16:31That allows them to pocket an extra £8.50 on every single bottle
0:16:31 > 0:16:33because they've paid no duty.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37It's unregulated. We don't know what's in it.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41This will be seized and taken to a warehouse and it will be destroyed.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46Ordinary people are getting fed up with criminals trying to undercut legitimate trade
0:16:46 > 0:16:48and trying to fiddle the taxpayer.
0:16:55 > 0:17:01Back in West London, Nimo and his fake medicines team are about to raid a house
0:17:01 > 0:17:05trading dodgy, dangerous fakes to innocent online buyers.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09So we've got officers on six addresses across the borough
0:17:09 > 0:17:12and we're about to visit one of them
0:17:12 > 0:17:15where we believe the main suspect here in the UK,
0:17:15 > 0:17:21who is supplying the counterfeit medicines on behalf of the gang in Pakistan, is based.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25After months of surveillance, it's now down to a dawn knock.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27- I hear someone.- Police! Let us in!
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Inside, they are not disappointed.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38The place is packed with fake drugs,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42a whole range traded from a scruffy bedsit,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45the contents of the drugs unknown.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49People that sell this sort of thing obviously have no conscience
0:17:49 > 0:17:53because these medicines are prescription-only medicines
0:17:53 > 0:17:58and they can cause side-effects, so you need a doctor to assess you properly.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02We've got here Valium which is a controlled drug.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06We've seen this before as well because there's a market for this.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11This branded diazepam can have serious side-effects even when used properly,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15but these fakes mixed with other drugs could be deadly.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Even fake Viagra has risks.
0:18:18 > 0:18:24If you've got a dodgy heart and you take some of these medicines for impotence or erectile dysfunction,
0:18:24 > 0:18:29you're opening up your valves and putting a lot more pressure on your heart.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32There is one arrest, but the team are aiming higher.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37They want the people who placed this man in a grubby bedsit packed with fake drugs.
0:18:37 > 0:18:43It's very important to make sure that we impact the organised gang behind this.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46In this case, it is an international criminal gang.
0:18:46 > 0:18:53We'll make the necessary phone calls to law enforcement authorities in Pakistan we've been liaising with.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58They're on stand-by to execute the equivalent of warrants there and conduct raids in Pakistan.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03That should be going off in the next half an hour or so.
0:19:03 > 0:19:09As the suspect heads off to the local nick, he just misses the postman with a large delivery.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Not to worry - the team will take it for him.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Whatever could be inside?
0:19:18 > 0:19:22OK, so this parcel has just arrived while we're here at the premises,
0:19:22 > 0:19:27while our investigators are seizing and quantifying all the other products.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31They've spoken to the suspect. This has been delivered by Royal Mail.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34If you have a look, this is blisters of Viagra.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38These fakes cost pennies to make, but each one sells for £5.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41That's a better return than cocaine or heroin.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46The total haul in this one bedsit is worth over £150,000.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03London, like most other great global destinations is being hit by a world-wide con.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08Holiday accommodation we book and pay for on the internet turns out to be fake.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11I consider myself to be quite savvy with the net.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13I'm aware of these scams.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16I tell people about them.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19I spot them for some people and say, "Don't even try that."
0:20:19 > 0:20:24Ezeibe's mother was coming from Africa to visit her new grandchild.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30Like thousands of others, the family were conned by rogue websites renting fake accommodation.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Whether for London or Lanzarote,
0:20:34 > 0:20:39crooks pinch estate agent photos and offer properties they don't own.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43On arrival, you discover it's somebody else's home.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48To be honest, I thought, "How could it have happened to me of all people?"
0:20:48 > 0:20:51You know, because I'm always on the internet.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54It is frightening, to be perfectly honest.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59There is no means of us predicting how this is going to develop.
0:20:59 > 0:21:05Almost helpless, Trading Standards watch these rogues as they change their web address every few weeks.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09The previous site's victims are left to arrive, luggage in tow,
0:21:09 > 0:21:15but the bank account they paid that £1,000 deposit into has also shut.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21They said they were sorry to inform me that they had several situations like this
0:21:21 > 0:21:25and people had turned up at the apartment with no official booking
0:21:25 > 0:21:28and that I should get in touch with the police.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33We can't even warn you of the company's name because it changes every few weeks.
0:21:33 > 0:21:39Authorities and victims are left to watch it reappear at a new web address.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Oh, my gosh, that's exactly the same place! That's the same address.
0:21:43 > 0:21:49That is an exact replica, if not the very site that I was on. People should not be able to do this,
0:21:49 > 0:21:56to just shut down and start again and be seemingly unstoppable. Someone needs to stop these people.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Similar sites are ripping people off every day
0:21:59 > 0:22:03and the law just can't keep up with them.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10We've recruited Which? magazine's Matt Bath.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15He thinks knowing our enemy will help us defeat the online con men.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19We've given him just 15 minutes to build a fake website.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21I can build my fake website for free.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25I don't need to spend money to con people out of theirs.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30The first step is to choose a web name that's really easy and people will believe.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34We're going to choose Trusted London Rentals.
0:22:40 > 0:22:46As far as this website is concerned, I'm a legitimate business about to offer a legitimate service
0:22:46 > 0:22:50and not in the business of ripping people off. Little do they know.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57I need some pictures of some property, so I need to go online to my local estate agents
0:22:57 > 0:23:00and steal the pictures of their property.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04This is effectively property hijacking.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07And the address they steal could be yours.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21Now then, let's have "we loved your property".
0:23:21 > 0:23:25"Fantastic service
0:23:25 > 0:23:29"and very reliable."
0:23:29 > 0:23:32It's like the Wild West out there sometimes. Let's go.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39"London Rentals...
0:23:41 > 0:23:46"Trusted, rated, reviewed...
0:23:48 > 0:23:51"The Mews." That sounds fantastic.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58I also haven't had to go through any checks.
0:24:00 > 0:24:06It is almost the perfect crime. As a criminal, I can be anywhere in the world.
0:24:06 > 0:24:12I can be up and running in 15 minutes and I can be gone again just as quickly.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Click "next" and bang, our website is up and running!
0:24:18 > 0:24:21You've been warned. Here are our tips.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Our next story is about a crime-busting grandmother.
0:24:42 > 0:24:48Chrissie Manz was happy silver-surfing round the net, comparing prices and buying gifts.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53That is when she stumbled across and exposed Britain's biggest ever counterfeit racket -
0:24:53 > 0:24:55fake golf equipment.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58She is our very own Miss Marple.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09Enjoying retirement, Alf and Chrissie Manz just love playing golf.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12I can't get it out of the hole!
0:25:12 > 0:25:15- Hold it straight.- I'm trying to.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18When they bought some brand-new clubs on eBay,
0:25:18 > 0:25:23the happy silver surfers soon discovered they had been conned.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27I got home and said to Chrissie, "You'll never guess what!" "What?"
0:25:27 > 0:25:29"The clubs I bought are fakes!"
0:25:29 > 0:25:33I never in a million years thought they would make fake golf clubs.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Yes, you get fake T-shirts and trainers and this sort of thing,
0:25:37 > 0:25:42but high-end stuff like golf equipment where you pay over £100 a club,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46I never in a million years thought they'd make copies of them.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50The ad also said that there was a no-quibble guarantee,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53so if we didn't like the clubs, we'd get our money back,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56so that's what we tried to do.
0:25:56 > 0:26:01We wrote to the seller, first by email, and got absolutely no response whatsoever,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05so then I decided to go to the local Trading Standards Office.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09The fakers had made a big mistake.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14Ignoring Chrissie's request for a £100 refund led to an investigation
0:26:14 > 0:26:18that would bring down a £3 million criminal network.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23'We initially thought it was a one-off.'
0:26:23 > 0:26:25We had no reason to suspect
0:26:25 > 0:26:30it would eventually turn into a worldwide conspiracy and fraud.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35Officers started watching the eBay account of seller Gary Bellchambers
0:26:35 > 0:26:39and soon discovered he was running over 100 accounts.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Here we have the main bulk of our haul,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46our golf clubs that we've seized.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51We've got close to 2,500 clubs, all of the main brands.
0:26:51 > 0:26:56Although they look like the real thing, the paint looks OK, the lettering looks fine,
0:26:56 > 0:27:01the shaft detail looks very good and the grip looks like a genuine thing,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06once people start hitting them, they'll realise they're not genuine.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Marketing was all-important with regard to this particular scam
0:27:10 > 0:27:16because they were priced in such a way that they weren't so cheap that people would think they were fake,
0:27:16 > 0:27:22but they were expensive enough that people would think they were genuine items, but at a bargain price.
0:27:22 > 0:27:29Bellchambers had a factory in China churning out the latest clubs that he would ship around the world.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32They were costing him under a fiver apiece.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34It's the biggest ever fraud on eBay.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39We do know that there were in excess of 90,000 listings,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42so if you worked out on a base figure of £60,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45which the Odyssey 2-Ball putters were,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48that works out to £5.5 million worth of stock.
0:27:48 > 0:27:55Fred and the team successfully prosecuted Gary Bellchambers and he was jailed for four years.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00It's very satisfying to know that the guys who perpetrated this scam
0:28:00 > 0:28:06are not out here enjoying this lovely sunshine that we're getting at the moment and are behind bars.
0:28:07 > 0:28:14- So you can't blame your fake clubs any more for your appalling game. - No, I'm afraid I can't.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18I think someone might regret not refunding one plucky woman £100.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28That's all from Fake Britain today. Bye for now.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011
0:28:54 > 0:28:57E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk