What is the real risk of buying a forgery?
Counterfeiting is a scourge for professionals and is rampant in all areas. A speciality of sellers, this practice is found everywhere and easily attracts tourists passing through, more or less aware of the illegal nature of their purchase.
After all, it's very tempting to buy a cheap handbag when it looks like a luxury brand. The consequences, however, can be painful.
Seizure and fine
First of all, it is important to remember that the law punishes not only the seller of counterfeit goods, but also the holders. In both cases, it was indeed an offence punishable by heavy penalties. Depending on the volume of the goods concerned and their value, penalties of up to 300,000 euros and three years' imprisonment may be imposed.
Of course, buying a single fake Vuitton bag in a foreign market will not be so harshly punished. At a minimum, the buyer faces seizure of his memory by customs and a fine of between one and two times the value of the object of the fraud. By way of indication, the French services seized some 5.4 million counterfeit items in 2018, 30% of which came from online purchases.
Detect counterfeiting
If an individual is caught with a counterfeit object, the penalty will be automatic, even if he is not aware that he has bought a forgery. In order to avoid being beaten on the fingers, one must therefore remain vigilant. It is best to avoid unusual places of sale, particularly low prices and poorly identified vendors. Similarly, a poorly printed label with spelling errors and poor quality packaging are indications of a suspicious item.? It is also important to check for imperfections of seams and finishes, patterns or colours, which are often of poor quality in the event of counterfeiting.
With the rise of e-commerce, this type of practice has largely become dematerialised. In addition to committing an offence, a person may become a victim of fraud. The first reflex is to make sure that the complete contact details of the trader appear on the site, that the price of VAT and the general terms and conditions of sale are clearly stated and that the terms of payment and delivery are specified. In case of doubt, it is possible to report counterfeiting on the Internet-signal.gouv.fr.
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