0:00:04 > 0:00:08Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:08 > 0:00:09Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Get down! Get down!
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- Now! - Get your hands behind your back now!
0:00:26 > 0:00:29It's just an ordinary house, it could be anywhere in the country,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32but this is a house that's filled with fakes
0:00:32 > 0:00:36and, you may not know it, but your home could be full of them, too.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39During the series, we'll be investigating the criminals
0:00:39 > 0:00:41trying to get their hands on your cash
0:00:41 > 0:00:44by using forgeries, frauds and fakery
0:00:44 > 0:00:48and I'll be showing you how you can avoid being taken for a ride.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Coming up, we find out
0:00:52 > 0:00:55how the fakers are cashing in on best-selling products
0:00:55 > 0:00:59from one of Britain's well-known companies - Dyson.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03They are copying things lawlessly. It's the Wild West there.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06How a seven-year-old's life-threatening electric shock
0:01:06 > 0:01:08from a counterfeit iPhone charger
0:01:08 > 0:01:12led to the discovery of dangerous fakes on sale in the UK.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15The problem's been that somebody's plugged one
0:01:15 > 0:01:17into a socket and it's exploded.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19And how bridal dress fakers
0:01:19 > 0:01:23are ruining what's supposed to be the perfect day.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25When I did open the dress, the first thing I did was
0:01:25 > 0:01:29ring my mum in floods of tears and said, "What am I going to do?
0:01:29 > 0:01:31"It's turned up, it's awful."
0:01:37 > 0:01:40This is an invention that took ten years to develop.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44It's a radically different take on the idea of a fan, which,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48as you can see, has no blades to get your fingers caught in.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50It's the first big change
0:01:50 > 0:01:54to the way fans have been made for over 100 years, but despite
0:01:54 > 0:01:59the fact it has countless different patents to protect it,
0:01:59 > 0:02:04these are now widely available.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06You're not seeing double.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08It's a fake.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Britain's best-known modern inventor, Sir James Dyson,
0:02:13 > 0:02:18has built his company into a billion-pound British institution.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24This is the Dyson warehouse, but these aren't Dyson fans.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26They're all fakes,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and Dyson have had them taken off the market.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33But around the world, there are thousands more.
0:02:33 > 0:02:39Dyson have over 650 legal cases targeting fake fan sellers,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43and they're also destroying huge numbers of their products.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Everyone represents a potential conned customer.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49This one's a fake,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51and this is a Dyson.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55The reason counterfeiting is much more prevalent now
0:02:55 > 0:02:57is that the world is a global market place.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00If you make something in China, you can sell it round the world
0:03:00 > 0:03:03very easily, and look at all these copies here,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06which are indistinguishable, almost, from our product.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10They are copying things lawlessly. It's the Wild West there.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13And the problem is, when they do this,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15it's very, very difficult to catch them.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20Somehow, the idea has arisen that it's OK for people to copy,
0:03:20 > 0:03:26um, people's products, but it isn't. They're stealing something.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28It's robbery, it's theft.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33One customer of the Dyson fan fakers was Jean,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35who lives in Canterbury.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39She thought Dyson's bladeless fan would be perfect for her.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43I wanted that Dyson fan,
0:03:43 > 0:03:49because it appeared to be totally safe with animals
0:03:49 > 0:03:54and I have three cats and, I would think, children and old people.
0:03:54 > 0:04:00You... You can't put your hand in and get your fingers chopped off.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Like many of us, Jean thought the easiest place
0:04:03 > 0:04:07to buy it would be online from a well-known website.
0:04:07 > 0:04:14I went to the Amazon website and typed in "Dyson fan"
0:04:14 > 0:04:21and I was then given a whole list of vendors of Dyson fans.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27The picture that accompanied the advert was the same in every case,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32so I clicked the picture of the cheapest.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35One click buy, thought no more of it.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40At £107, Jean thought she was buying a British invention
0:04:40 > 0:04:44and she was expecting the very highest quality.
0:04:44 > 0:04:50When I got the fan out of the box, I was 100% sure it was a genuine Dyson.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55But on closer inspection, she began to have her doubts.
0:04:55 > 0:05:01The instructions for putting it together were very limited
0:05:01 > 0:05:05and I couldn't actually fix it together.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10And another discovery left Jean absolutely astonished.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14I noticed that there was only a two-pin plug on it.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17And I thought, "Hello, hello?
0:05:17 > 0:05:22"Only two-pin plug? This can't be for the UK market."
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Jean e-mailed the seller to complain
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and she couldn't believe the response she was given.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34She wanted me to cut off the two-pin plug
0:05:34 > 0:05:37and attach a three-pin plug.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40I thought, "No, this is very dangerous."
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Um, the last thing I want is a fire in the house.
0:05:46 > 0:05:52I didn't think that, if it was a Dyson fan, it would be like this.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Jean began to get suspicious
0:05:55 > 0:05:58that perhaps the fan wasn't actually a Dyson.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Extremely unhappy with the product, Jean wanted to send it back,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07but was shocked to find out the cost.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11After twice telling me to cut the plug off,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15"If you want to send it back, it'll cost you about £15."
0:06:17 > 0:06:22When I took it to the post office, I found that, in fact,
0:06:22 > 0:06:27it wasn't going to cost £15, it was going to cost £72.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32And the reason for the £72 postage
0:06:32 > 0:06:36was it had to go all the way back to China, where it had been made.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Unsurprisingly, Jean brought it home again.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43She'd been left out of pocket by the fakers
0:06:43 > 0:06:47and her futuristic fan has left her embarrassed.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Well, I felt very foolish.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54It took me two or three days for the penny to drop.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56It was very slow.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59But yeah, I felt foolish.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Amazon.co.uk say that...
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Later, we find out how Jean was not only taken in by the fan fakers,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22but how they also put her life in danger.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24That ignited very, very easily.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Every one of these phone chargers is a fake,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36designed to look like the real deal on the outside, but of course,
0:07:36 > 0:07:41with a phone charger, it's what's on the inside that counts.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43They might look like a bit of a bargain
0:07:43 > 0:07:46and at a fraction of the cost of the original item,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49they're certainly cheap, but if you buy one,
0:07:49 > 0:07:53it could be one of the most disastrous purchases you ever make.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Apple is one of the most successful companies in the world,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02so, unsurprisingly, fakers around the globe are trying to cash in.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Astonishingly, in China, they didn't stop at faking Apple products,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10they faked the whole shop,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14complete with logos, displays and staff uniforms. In fact,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18they found more than 20 of these fake stores across the country.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20In this one, even the staff were duped.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25They thought they were working for the real Apple Corporation.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27And in Russia, hundreds of fake iPhones
0:08:27 > 0:08:30were seized by the authorities and destroyed.
0:08:33 > 0:08:40But there are fake iPhones much closer to home, as Sonia found out.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43She was delighted when she found a seller on Gumtree
0:08:43 > 0:08:47with a second-hand iPhone 4S for £230.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50She wanted to buy it as a present for her husband.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54When she picked up the iPhone, Sonia checked it out as best she could.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59To me, it looked fine. It didn't look like a fake at all.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02I mean, the quality was really good.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05The iPhone fake looked so much like a real one,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09it wasn't until she got home that her husband realised
0:09:09 > 0:09:12it didn't work like a real iPhone.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15He checked, the Wi-Fi wasn't working.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20So he checked it online,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22looked for the tell-tale signs
0:09:22 > 0:09:24and then I think the last thing was he tried iTunes.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27When they tried to register the phone,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31they found out the identification code belonged to another model.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Obviously, then we knew that it wasn't the right phone.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Sonia was devastated to find out
0:09:38 > 0:09:41that the iPhone she'd bought was a fake.
0:09:41 > 0:09:47I was gutted, absolutely gutted. I mean, and you feel stupid, as well,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50the fact that, you know, somebody's conned you.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Sonia had lost her £230
0:09:54 > 0:09:57and her husband had a present that didn't work.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- Now Sonia feels completely taken in. - It's embarrassing
0:10:01 > 0:10:06to think I've just handed over 200-odd pounds for a...
0:10:06 > 0:10:12a fake phone, so I was gutted, genuinely gutted.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17But for Apple customers, there's far more dangerous fakery going on.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Fake iPhone chargers are big business in the UK
0:10:20 > 0:10:24and they can be bought for as little as 99p.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28But as one mother discovered, the fakes are potentially lethal.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Her terrifying experience means she doesn't want to be identified.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35We'll call her Sarah, but that's not her real name.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Sarah bought her iPhone charger online using eBay
0:10:39 > 0:10:42and it was sold by a local East London trader.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44There was hundreds and hundreds of people
0:10:44 > 0:10:47selling iPhone chargers.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50But I found this company specifically because they had sold so many.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54When it arrived, she was very happy with what she had bought,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56especially since she thought she'd saved some money.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02A real iPhone charger costs around £25. She paid less than a fiver.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04It looked like a real charger,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08it had all the markings on it of a real charger, um,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12it actually stated on there that it was CE approved,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14which, in my mind, meant it was safe.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Her seven-year-old daughter was unaware of the rotten core
0:11:18 > 0:11:21at the heart of the fake Apple iPhone charger.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25She was sitting playing on her iPod and the battery had gone low
0:11:25 > 0:11:28and she plugged it into the charger that I had brought down
0:11:28 > 0:11:30and then turned the switch on
0:11:30 > 0:11:31and there was a big bang.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37And with that, the pins of the plug stayed in the wall,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40but the back of it came off and hit her on the head
0:11:40 > 0:11:44and she ended up being thrown to the other side of the kitchen.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45The poor little thing
0:11:45 > 0:11:50just literally had the shape of the iPhone charger on her forehead.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Thrown across the room, the horrific incident
0:11:54 > 0:11:57left her daughter traumatised and a lot of pain.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00She was lucky to be alive.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04It wasn't until she really started complaining that it was her arm
0:12:04 > 0:12:07that was hurting and it was the arm that turned it on
0:12:07 > 0:12:10that that's when I thought, "No, something bad has happened,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12"I need to take her to the hospital."
0:12:13 > 0:12:16The hospital confirmed to Sarah that her seven-year-old daughter
0:12:16 > 0:12:19had received a life-threatening shock from the mains.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Unsurprisingly,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25her daughter is now terrified of touching anything electrical.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28It was, "Mummy, can you come and do this? Mummy, can you turn this on?
0:12:28 > 0:12:30"Mummy, how do I turn this on again?"
0:12:30 > 0:12:35If I'm around, she will ask me to do it rather than do it herself.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38And Sarah's doctor told her that the electric shock may have
0:12:38 > 0:12:42triggered a recurrence of her daughter's old medical condition.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46About three or four days after the shock, her eczema flared up
0:12:46 > 0:12:49just on her torso, just on the right side of her body.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Understandably, Sarah is distraught at what happened.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00She blames herself for her daughter's near-fatal accident.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Well, obviously, I was devastated that
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I had bought a charger that would do that to my own daughter.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Obviously, you spend your whole life trying to protect them and I had
0:13:09 > 0:13:13bought the item that then had caused her, you know, that much trouble.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15I know I didn't know, but you sort of get annoyed
0:13:15 > 0:13:17with yourself to think that,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19just because you've saved a little bit of money,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22why then did I not just go to the shop and buy one?
0:13:22 > 0:13:25I thought just by saving that little bit of money
0:13:25 > 0:13:28has now caused that amount of trouble,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31which, obviously, is heartbreaking for me and it's upsetting for her.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Angry and not wanting this to happen to anyone else,
0:13:35 > 0:13:40she contacted Trading Standards hoping they would tackle the fakers.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43They're still selling them, so that's when I thought,
0:13:43 > 0:13:44"No, I've got to take this further,"
0:13:44 > 0:13:47because there is obviously no remorse with the company.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50I just wanted them to apologise and to know what they were selling,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52because the next person might not be so fortunate.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Sarah's complaint led to
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Kari Aslam and his team from Newham Trading Standards
0:13:58 > 0:14:01tackling the trader who sold the charger to her
0:14:01 > 0:14:04and they seized 60 other fakes he had for sale.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07The trader was cautioned, but then, an investigation began
0:14:07 > 0:14:11to see how many more were on sale in shops in the area.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13There's been a seven-year-old girl
0:14:13 > 0:14:18who's had an accident with a fake/dangerous charger.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20On a busy shopping street in Newham,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24Kari and his team target shops they believe may have
0:14:24 > 0:14:27the potentially lethal chargers openly on sale.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Hello, mate. How are you doing?
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Um, so my name's Kari Aslam, I'm a Trading Standards officer.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Can I speak to the manager, please?
0:14:35 > 0:14:37I don't need to speak to him on the phone. Are you in charge here?
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Have you got any iPhone chargers, yeah?
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Yeah, these are the ones I'm interested in.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Now, how many of these have you got? Just the two?
0:14:49 > 0:14:50Have you got some at the back?
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Because you actually gave me some from the back.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01OK. The problem with these chargers is that there's been an accident
0:15:01 > 0:15:04and we suspect that they might be unsafe.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07So any of these chargers you've got in the shop,
0:15:07 > 0:15:09we're going to have to take them off you.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14The chargers could cause the shop and the owners a lot of problems.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16And if they are found to be dangerous,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18then they're going to be in trouble, basically.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Disturbingly, in the next shop,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27exactly the same chargers are also on open sale.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29How many of these have you got in stock?
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Is that all you've got?
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Where did you get these from?
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Right, have you got any receipts or invoices?
0:15:43 > 0:15:47While Kari has to stop the sale of these potentially deadly chargers,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50he also wants to cut off the supply.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53He needs to know who sold them to the shop.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58The problem's been that somebody's plugged a similar one into a socket
0:15:58 > 0:16:02and it's exploded, so we'd like to test them.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07The chargers here are seized and the team head off to the next shop.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Have you got any invoices or receipts to show where you got them?
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Yeah, is that a white van? Does it, like, come in a van?
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Kari becomes increasingly frustrated with the shop worker's attitude.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27These are quite serious safety issues,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30because somebody's been injured with one of these, so you need
0:16:30 > 0:16:32to be quite accurate in terms of the information you provide,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34because you might yourself get into trouble,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37so I know you're saying somebody rolls off the street,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39and you don't know who that is,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41but that's not really believable in court.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46But it's not just the iPhone chargers that could be fake.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50One of Kari's officers has uncovered some other brands.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Again, we've got some more chargers here
0:16:52 > 0:16:55we suspect that might be counterfeit or not safe.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Are we going to take these? Yeah. ..Where are you getting these?
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Right, normal people came in here? OK.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Once the chargers are bagged and tagged,
0:17:07 > 0:17:08they're taken away to be tested.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14In just a couple of hours, on just one high Street,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18all these potentially lethal chargers have been found.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20We've seized over 60 items
0:17:20 > 0:17:24which we believe are all potentially dangerous,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28so we've potentially saved 60 people from injuries
0:17:28 > 0:17:32or fires or explosions, just in one morning.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Three shops within 100 metres of, um, each other.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Later, we'll see what happens
0:17:38 > 0:17:41when the seized iPhone chargers are tested...
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Whoa-ho-ho!
0:17:43 > 0:17:45I haven't seen one like this before.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50..and discover how the fakes are fooling even the experts.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52I could've ended up killing somebody.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Weddings in the UK are big business.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Every year, a quarter of a million couples take the plunge
0:18:06 > 0:18:11and the sometimes huge sums they spend support a vast industry.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15So what happens when the dress, the focus of the whole day,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19turns out to be a huge slice of wedding fake?
0:18:20 > 0:18:25The wedding industry in the UK is worth £10 billion a year.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Giles from Eternity Bridal
0:18:27 > 0:18:31knows that what he sells is a key part of it
0:18:31 > 0:18:35and just how important the dress is for a bride on her special day.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40I've often asked, "Why do people spend so much on a dress for a day?"
0:18:40 > 0:18:43And I think the answer is, it's the only day of your life
0:18:43 > 0:18:48that you're going to have so many eyes directly on you.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51And you are the centre, from the minute you walk in
0:18:51 > 0:18:54to the minute you sit down to the minute you have your first dance,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58you are the centre of attention and all eyes are on you.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01But the cost of a wedding day can be astronomical.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03The poll says that the average spend on a wedding
0:19:03 > 0:19:06is roughly around about £10,000.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08And, of course, the dress is a big slice of that,
0:19:08 > 0:19:10often around £1,000,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13so, to keep some of those costs under control,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15more and more brides are turning to the internet
0:19:15 > 0:19:18to try and find a perfect dress at a less painful price.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23So when they've been to the bridal shop, and tried on their dream dress
0:19:23 > 0:19:24and they think, "Fantastic,"
0:19:24 > 0:19:27and, as everybody does these days, they go online
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and they find these offers that they can buy a dress for £150.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34And, unfortunately, that's where the fakers try and cash in.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Fake dresses have become more prevalent
0:19:36 > 0:19:38as the internet has become more prevalent.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Girls will buy their party dress on a Thursday,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45it'll be delivered on a Friday, they can wear it on the weekend.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48They don't think twice about buying online,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50because that's the culture they've grown up in
0:19:50 > 0:19:53and they have no qualms in thinking that what will be delivered
0:19:53 > 0:19:55is exactly what they've tried on in the shop.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58They just think, "Well, obviously, that's retail,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02"I'm obviously getting it at the wholesale price. It's all good."
0:20:03 > 0:20:06But couples are being caught out by pictures
0:20:06 > 0:20:09stolen from the websites of genuine designers.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14These companies that are making the fake dresses,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17as they do with any product, will go on and find a picture
0:20:17 > 0:20:21that has been used in advertising, that has been used
0:20:21 > 0:20:25in the company's online genuine sites, and they will take it.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28The dresses are made in factories over in China.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30They churn them out two to a dozen.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33They're made for pennies.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39When Jeff from Scunthorpe proposed to his partner Suzanne, he wanted to
0:20:39 > 0:20:43give her the wedding of her dreams, even though their budget was tight.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48And, for Suzanne, having a white wedding dress would be very special.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50The first time I got married,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53I didn't get married in a proper wedding dress or anything.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57They started looking online for wedding dress ideas
0:20:57 > 0:21:01and Suzanne thought her luck was in when she spotted the perfect dress.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04She didn't realise the photograph she'd seen
0:21:04 > 0:21:07was of a real Eternity Bridal dress.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10It's a bestseller, and it's frequently faked.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14I told her she could have anything she wanted, um,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17but that was the one she wanted, because of the picture.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20And they were delighted that they could manage the price.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25I didn't really know how much you had to pay to get
0:21:25 > 0:21:29a quality wedding dress. I know now, but I didn't at the time.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32£80-£100 was a lot of money to Suzanne, anyway.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35With the dress ordered, Jeff and Suzanne
0:21:35 > 0:21:40carried on planning their big day, until the dress arrived.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45Everything seemed to be hunky-dory, but when it arrived,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49it arrived in a parcel that was, like, just a bit...about A5 size...
0:21:49 > 0:21:53- Yeah.- ..and about an inch thick, and I couldn't quite get my head round
0:21:53 > 0:21:56that there was a wedding dress in this parcel,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58because I expected a big box.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02And when they opened up the packet, they were astounded to discover
0:22:02 > 0:22:05the dress of their dreams was anything but.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08It was a poorly-made fake.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11- It wasn't the same dress. - No.- That was obvious.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14But it was made to look like the same dress.
0:22:14 > 0:22:15When we looked at the picture,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17it wasn't what we thought we were getting.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Suzanne couldn't believe what had happened.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- I was heartbroken, really, wasn't I?- Yeah.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Because, I say, I had set my heart on that dress
0:22:30 > 0:22:34and, er, it just wasn't the one we'd picked.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37And time was running out.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Two weeks before we got married and everything was booked and paid for,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43um...
0:22:43 > 0:22:46But we still had this dress to sort out.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Jeff and Suzanne took the fake
0:22:49 > 0:22:52to a dress maker to see if it could be improved,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56but despite their best efforts, it just made things worse.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00When this other person took these ruches out,
0:23:00 > 0:23:02whatever they'd used left big holes in the dress
0:23:02 > 0:23:05when she cut the stitching away.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Normally, when you cut stitching away and pull it through, you can't
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- see the holes.- You shouldn't, no. - But these were big holes.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13They couldn't believe it
0:23:13 > 0:23:16when they were told what the dress was actually made of.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19It was lining material, not wedding material.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22And having bought a proper wedding dress now,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24I know the difference, but I didn't then.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Suzanne's wedding day could eventually only be rescued
0:23:28 > 0:23:30by buying a replacement dress,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33but the fake had nearly wrecked their dream wedding.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39We were sort of blinded by the elegance of the pictures,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41rather than where it was coming from.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45It's just a shame, really, because there's a lot of people out there
0:23:45 > 0:23:47like myself who will fall into the same trap.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50They think they're buying what they're seeing, they're not,
0:23:50 > 0:23:54and it could shatter someone's dreams, their special day,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56because it very nearly did it for Suzanne.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Back at Eternity, this is the dress in the picture
0:24:00 > 0:24:03that Suzanne thought she was getting.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07This is the dress that we have so many people phoning us up about,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10and, er, unfortunately, the girls have been caught out with.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11At first glance,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15the fakers have clearly tried to copy the overall look and design,
0:24:15 > 0:24:20but on closer inspection, the two dresses couldn't be more different.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21Here, if we look at
0:24:21 > 0:24:26the original article, and what makes this dress,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28all the detailing on here is freshwater pearls,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32hand-stitched beading, and it's all individually sewn on.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Now, if we look at the copy,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39first of all, completely different in the beading area,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43because this is embroidery with sequins.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47You have absolutely nothing going on underneath,
0:24:47 > 0:24:52so the dress just falls like a sack.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54The stitching isn't finished properly,
0:24:54 > 0:24:56the seams aren't finished properly,
0:24:56 > 0:24:58there's absolutely no construction within the dress.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00But even without me saying anything,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04if you just look at the two dresses, I think it just speaks for itself.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Jeff and Suzanne weren't the only couple
0:25:07 > 0:25:10to be caught out by the wedding dress fakers.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14This design is so popular that multiple sites are pretending
0:25:14 > 0:25:18to sell it when, in fact, they're offering a fake.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23In West London, Becky was excited about getting married
0:25:23 > 0:25:27and started looking for her perfect dress.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29CHILD GIGGLES, BECKY LAUGHS
0:25:29 > 0:25:31When we decided to get married,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34I'd had a lot of friends that've said, "Oh, eBay's good,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37"I've got dresses from there," so I thought I'd have a look.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41I had a look through eBay, come across the most gorgeous,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43perfect dress and thought, "I really want that dress.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45"This is the one that I want."
0:25:45 > 0:25:48so clicked into it, rang my dad and said, you know,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51"I've found the perfect dress, please can you buy it for me."
0:25:51 > 0:25:55And as far as I was concerned, I was buying the perfect dress.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59Becky was thrilled about receiving the dress of her dreams.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03It said eight to 12 weeks, it would be with me,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05so I was quite excited, counting the days
0:26:05 > 0:26:08and the weeks that went past to get this dress.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13But when an unexpected very small package arrived,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15she was in for a shock.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Got this lovely package, about this size,
0:26:18 > 0:26:24and when I opened it, out popped what was meant to be a wedding dress.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Becky couldn't believe what she was seeing.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32I thought I was getting something that nobody else would have
0:26:32 > 0:26:38seen before and then, when it actually came to my front door,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41it was one of the most tragic things I've ever seen in my life.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43She was distraught.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46When I did open the dress, the first thing I did was
0:26:46 > 0:26:49ring my mum in floods of tears and said, "What am I going to do?
0:26:49 > 0:26:51"It's turned up, it's awful."
0:26:51 > 0:26:53I felt bad, why have I done this?
0:26:53 > 0:26:57Why have I wasted money on what I thought was getting a perfect dress?
0:27:00 > 0:27:03And when she tried it on, things got a lot worse.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06When I did put the dress on, it felt horrible.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10I think it was meant to be like a chiffon-y satin, but it wasn't,
0:27:10 > 0:27:16it was see-through, it was severely creased with poor stitching.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18It was a completely different colour and, within five minutes
0:27:18 > 0:27:22of having the dress on, I'd had an allergic reaction to the material,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25my skin started to blister, a red rash,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28so I had to take it off immediately
0:27:28 > 0:27:32and try to calm the blisters down with cream and Piriton.
0:27:34 > 0:27:35The dress was a fake.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42Once I'd had a clear look at it, I could see that it was a fake dress.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45They had tried to copy the picture that I'd seen on eBay.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Becky didn't realise that the picture of the dress
0:27:49 > 0:27:53had been stolen from the Eternity Bridal website.
0:27:53 > 0:27:59At the time, it didn't say "This dress is a copy of another company,"
0:27:59 > 0:28:02I just thought I was getting an original style dress
0:28:02 > 0:28:04from this person from eBay.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Luckily, she was able to get another dress in time, but she had
0:28:08 > 0:28:12lost her money and didn't get the dress she'd really wanted.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Looking back now, I wish I wasn't so hasty and ordering
0:28:16 > 0:28:21the first dress that I saw, because, obviously, it didn't go to plan
0:28:21 > 0:28:24and I was money down, rather than being the happy person
0:28:24 > 0:28:27I should've been when the dress arrived.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Many other big names in bridal design,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34Maggie Sottero, Benjamin Roberts
0:28:34 > 0:28:36and Pronovias are also having their dresses
0:28:36 > 0:28:41targeted by the fakers, and it's very difficult to stop them.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45When it does go wrong, the industry says that's money lost for ever.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Fake dresses are an issue.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51If a girl has spent the money on a fake dress, for example,
0:28:51 > 0:28:54and let's say it comes and she's not happy with it,
0:28:54 > 0:28:56that money has gone from her budget,
0:28:56 > 0:28:59she cannot then produce that to then buy the real thing.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04The vast majority of wedding dresses are sold by small,
0:29:04 > 0:29:05independent shops.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09It's an important slice of the British economy.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12Bridal retailer Michelle in Essex runs a successful business,
0:29:12 > 0:29:17but says the fakers are harming shops like hers.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20At the end of the day, there are only a finite number of weddings
0:29:20 > 0:29:27each year, um, and so, every dress that is bought and used online
0:29:27 > 0:29:32is a dress that's not bought from an independent bridal retailer.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34Retailers like Michelle attract customers
0:29:34 > 0:29:36and build up a relationship with them,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40partly because they're local and seen as trustworthy.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42But she's seen a disturbing trend -
0:29:42 > 0:29:45online fakers who are trying to convince brides
0:29:45 > 0:29:48they're also UK-based and, thus, equally reliable.
0:29:50 > 0:29:51Now, you've got sites, um,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54especially promoting themselves through Facebook,
0:29:54 > 0:29:58saying, "We're a UK-based seller, we're trusted, so on and so forth,"
0:29:58 > 0:29:59but all they're actually doing
0:29:59 > 0:30:03is importing the goods from the same people in the Far East.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Girls are thinking, cos it's UK-based,
0:30:06 > 0:30:08that they're getting that actual dress, and they're not,
0:30:08 > 0:30:12they're still getting a counterfeit dress, which is of no better quality.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Our industry experts have a warning about how the fakers
0:30:15 > 0:30:18are taking advantage of brides to be.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22They manufacture them for pennies and they're charging hundreds of pounds,
0:30:22 > 0:30:23so their mark-up is astronomical,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26because they're not giving a value product.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Unfortunately, from our side, it is very hard to stop this
0:30:29 > 0:30:33and it's very, very hard to actually police the whole of the internet.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35The main thing to get over is that those images
0:30:35 > 0:30:39you're seeing on those websites are not what you're going to get.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Now, earlier, we saw how the fans fakers
0:30:50 > 0:30:53were cashing in on Sir James Dyson's designs.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58The fakers left Jean out of pocket and feeling, well, rather foolish.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00She didn't know this fan was a fake when she bought it,
0:31:00 > 0:31:03or that it could put her life in danger.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10TUV is an independent testing house that checks electrical products.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13Today, Richard Poate and Luke Kington will be seeing
0:31:13 > 0:31:17whether this fake Dyson fan, exactly like the one Jean bought,
0:31:17 > 0:31:19will pass the safety standards
0:31:19 > 0:31:23that all electrical products must meet in the UK.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Today, we're having a look at this copycat fan.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27And what we're going to have a look at particularly
0:31:27 > 0:31:29is about its electrical safety.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39Perfect. That's all I wanted to see.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43The plastic closest to the electrical parts of the fan
0:31:43 > 0:31:45has to meet critical safety standards.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49If there was a fault, it could be very dangerous if it didn't.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52So what we can see here is that some of these electrical parts
0:31:52 > 0:31:56and components are in quite close contact to the plastic.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00They cut out a sample of plastic from the bottom of the fan.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04The standard industry test involves putting a rod
0:32:04 > 0:32:08heated to 850 degrees Celsius into the plastic.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15The plastic is now on fire and the rod is removed.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18The fire should go out within 30 seconds.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21If it doesn't go out in this time, it's failed the test
0:32:21 > 0:32:23and it's a serious fire risk.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29After 60 seconds, the fire hasn't gone out
0:32:29 > 0:32:30and dripping molten plastic
0:32:30 > 0:32:33falls onto the paper below, setting fire to it.
0:32:34 > 0:32:39After 90 seconds, black smoke billows out of the test sample.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42This is far worse than expected.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Well, that ignited very, very easily.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46As you can see, it's still burning
0:32:46 > 0:32:50several minutes into the test, the tissue paper's completely consumed.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54That's going to burn until there's no material left. That's pretty bad.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00A product like this fake fan could cause a serious fire in your house.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04Well, believe it or not, that is the final piece, the unburnt piece,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07or the nearly unburnt piece of the sample that we tested.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11This is completely burnt out of control. It's completely consumed.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13Definitely doesn't meet the 850 degree test.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19- JAMES DYSON:- 'They're not tested by us.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21'They're not built to the same standards that we build them.'
0:33:21 > 0:33:24They don't perform anything like as well as ours.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27They can catch on fire, they can give you an electric shock.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30You know, they don't work like ours do. We go to extreme lengths
0:33:30 > 0:33:34of testing and development to make sure it's utterly safe.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Not only are Dyson's products being faked, but the fakers have now
0:33:41 > 0:33:45come up with a way to get money out of people who own the real thing.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50One in three British households has a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
0:33:50 > 0:33:51And with a market this big,
0:33:51 > 0:33:55it's no surprise that the fakers are keen to exploit the situation.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00Warwick Dixon from Kent was called by someone saying
0:34:00 > 0:34:05they were from Dyson and offering to service his vacuum for 19.99.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09Basically, I received the phone call
0:34:09 > 0:34:14and it was Dyson on the phone saying they were doing a special offer
0:34:14 > 0:34:18coming up to Christmas, could they come out and sort it?
0:34:18 > 0:34:21But when the engineer came out, Warwick was
0:34:21 > 0:34:26surprised as he unrolled a dust mat with another company's logo on it.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Thinking this was odd, he asked the man where he'd come from.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35He was expecting a local Dyson service engineer from Kent.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37This man said he'd come all the way from Essex.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44He said, "Oh, we're filling in and covering each other's areas,"
0:34:44 > 0:34:48and persuaded me that it was all legitimate, that he was from Dyson.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53The engineer got to work and the costs soon started adding up.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58He stripped it down and said that I needed more than just the one filter
0:34:58 > 0:35:04and, all in all, instead of being £19.99,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07it came up to almost £90.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12On top of this, the engineer tried the hard sell on a service contract.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15So I was being asked to pay
0:35:15 > 0:35:24about £130 for a machine which can be bought nowadays probably for 150,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26and this was just the service job.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28The engineer told Warwick
0:35:28 > 0:35:32he'd have to come back with some new parts and he left.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36After the engineer had gone, taking Warwick's money with him,
0:35:36 > 0:35:41Warwick turned detective and was shocked by what he found.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44When I looked at the parts and the packaging, not one of them
0:35:44 > 0:35:51had Dyson on, and so, I rang Dyson's to explain what had happened
0:35:51 > 0:35:54and they said, "Oh, no, not another one."
0:35:55 > 0:35:58The next day, when the engineer came back,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Warwick confronted him about the fakery.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05He got back in his car very irate,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07sped up the drive
0:36:07 > 0:36:13and screamed off down the road, um, really, really angry
0:36:13 > 0:36:19that I'd effectively caught him out that he was an impostor
0:36:19 > 0:36:23and, er, I was intended to be yet another victim.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Dyson say they don't call people about their vacuums
0:36:27 > 0:36:32and are very concerned about customers being targeted.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35This is really worrying, A, because they're not from Dyson
0:36:35 > 0:36:38and they're fooling and conning the customer, but then,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41since they're not Dyson engineers, the last thing they should be doing
0:36:41 > 0:36:43is fiddling around with a Dyson machine.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48Fake Britain has tracked down an engineer who witnessed
0:36:48 > 0:36:53first hand the operations of a fake Dyson service company.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59The whistleblower wants his identity hidden for fear of repercussions.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03We'll call him Stewart, but this isn't his real name.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06I had seen the job advertised in the local job centre,
0:37:06 > 0:37:10"Local service engineers required for local-based vacuum shop".
0:37:10 > 0:37:16Stewart's new employer was cashing in on Dyson vacuum owners in the UK.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19The call was made straight out of the BT phone book.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23They would ring through and say, "Hi, we're from the Dyson service centre
0:37:23 > 0:37:25"ringing about your Dyson vacuum cleaner."
0:37:25 > 0:37:30They would then go on to offer them a half-price service offer,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33which was never half price in the first place,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36just to get the customer and the engineer into the home.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39Stewart says the company would confuse customers
0:37:39 > 0:37:42into thinking they were from Dyson.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45A lot of people can be fooled by a telephone operator saying
0:37:45 > 0:37:47they were from the Dyson service centre,
0:37:47 > 0:37:50believing that they were from THE Dyson themselves
0:37:50 > 0:37:52and not an independent company.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55From the start, Stewart says he was expected to get
0:37:55 > 0:37:59as much money as possible out of the unsuspecting customer.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02We were given 30 services a week to do.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05We'd go to a house where the service was offered at £30,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09but we were expected to draw £60 at every single house,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12regardless of age and condition of the machine.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Whether the machine was under warranty, whether the customer
0:38:15 > 0:38:18was young or whether the customer was very elderly and senile.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22And some engineers went to extreme lengths.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25On occasions like that, engineers would advise
0:38:25 > 0:38:27that the part be changed when it functioned as it should,
0:38:27 > 0:38:32or sabotage machines to get the money for the target.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Stewart says he confronted his boss.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39He would reply saying that it's not in their company policy to mislead.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42They've done nothing wrong.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44But after finding out that
0:38:44 > 0:38:47fake Dyson service engineers were targeting vulnerable people,
0:38:47 > 0:38:53the pieces began to fall into place and Stewart decided to leave.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58I could then paint in our office as part of that scam
0:38:58 > 0:39:02and subsequently left within the space of just a few weeks.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06Dyson is trying to stop fakers from taking advantage of their customers,
0:39:06 > 0:39:10and Sir James Dyson has some strong advice.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12They could be saying and doing anything,
0:39:12 > 0:39:16so I do recommend that people who are contacted in this way,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19by someone claiming to be from Dyson, just put the phone down.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31Earlier, we saw Sarah, whose daughter could have been killed
0:39:31 > 0:39:34when a fake iPhone charger gave her an electric shock.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Sarah had thought the charger was real
0:39:38 > 0:39:41and that's not surprising, because fake iPhone chargers
0:39:41 > 0:39:44are so convincing that even an expert was duped.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49John Shaw is an electrical engineer from Mossley.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53He thought nothing of buying two chargers online.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56I saw lots of them available, just bought a couple.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Should've noticed that they were very cheap,
0:39:58 > 0:40:01but I didn't really think about it at the time.
0:40:01 > 0:40:06Sending one to a friend, he was horrified by what happened next...
0:40:06 > 0:40:09And he plugged it in on his boat...
0:40:09 > 0:40:15came back the next day and, er, there was black smoke stains on the charger
0:40:15 > 0:40:19and the wires and the piece of equipment it was plugged into, er,
0:40:19 > 0:40:21had been destroyed.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24John decided to investigate,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27because the charger he had bought could have killed his friend.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32Being an electronic engineer, I had to find out what had gone wrong,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35because, potentially, I could've ended up killing somebody
0:40:35 > 0:40:37or burning the whole boatyard down.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44He was astounded by what he found inside the charger.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48I cut it open and, um,
0:40:48 > 0:40:53I discovered that it was extremely badly constructed.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56I've never seen anything like it.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59There was no doubt about it, these chargers were fake
0:40:59 > 0:41:02and extremely dangerous.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04If I was to hold on to this
0:41:04 > 0:41:06standard phone charger wire...
0:41:08 > 0:41:11..and that was plugged into the USB...
0:41:11 > 0:41:13I would be essentially...
0:41:13 > 0:41:16it'd be the same as putting my finger within half a millimetre
0:41:16 > 0:41:21of a power supply. It's absolutely lethal.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Just imagine a kid lying on the floor watching the telly
0:41:24 > 0:41:27playing with his iPhone, if you're connected to the floor,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30and you've got a supply in your hand, you're going to die.
0:41:30 > 0:41:36The fake iPhone chargers were so convincing, even John got confused.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40I got the fake chargers mixed up with the real one.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45Well, it's been perfectly cloned from a visual point of view, certainly.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49But the fakers are missing out crucial parts inside to cut costs
0:41:49 > 0:41:52and so, they're putting lives at risk.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54Apple have gone to a great deal of trouble
0:41:54 > 0:41:58to cram all of this stuff into here, but to try and replicate that
0:41:58 > 0:42:01for something that doesn't cost very much money
0:42:01 > 0:42:03is just impossible.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05Buying an iPhone charger cheaply
0:42:05 > 0:42:08could end up costing the consumer their life.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12Earlier, we saw Newham Trading Standards
0:42:12 > 0:42:16seizing potentially dangerous chargers from high-street shops.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Now, Kari Aslam is having them tested.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22We're going to be carrying out some independent testing to see
0:42:22 > 0:42:26if they're safe or not and whether they're fake.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28And already, there's a problem.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30It should presumably say California,
0:42:30 > 0:42:34but they've misspelled California and it actually says "Caltformula".
0:42:34 > 0:42:37The earth pin is too long
0:42:37 > 0:42:41and the live pin and the neutral pin are actually too short.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Whoa-ho-ho!
0:42:48 > 0:42:50I haven't seen one like this before.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54I'm afraid that's failed to comply with the safety regulations.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58In fact, all the chargers fail the test. They're all fakes
0:42:58 > 0:43:01and all as dangerous as the one that electrocuted Sarah's daughter.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07But Kari and his team are determined to try and stamp out the problem.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10And every shop, er, will be checked street by street, really,
0:43:10 > 0:43:13for these chargers and, um, we will take tough,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16robust enforcement action against anyone selling these.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24That's all from Fake Britain. Bye-bye.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd