ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Business Related Discussion Counterfeit Products

this one?>

http://www.esfi.org/index.cfm/page/Counterfeits-Can-Kill-DVD/cdid/10836/pid/3003

again, we have the captains of industry on their hind feet barking up their integrity

they also have the unmitigated gall to openly suggest that buying conterfeits cause job loss, after outsourcing every possible widget make to 3rd world countries

further, they imply deputizing the EC contingent towards identification of counterfieting

well, i would think publicizing those 50 counterfiet web sites we're told exist would be a grand start for any EC, badge or no badge


so where are they?

is there some curveball character we need to see?

~S~

~s~:
A quick google look around seems to have a lot of 'dated' info ('07-09).

Also it seems to be an issue in Europe (England)

I see your points regarding a lot of things going 'off shore', and that sure did not help this situation. However, those that mfg the 'junk' would sure find a way, even if the real items were made in the good ol' USA.

Recent find of 'bad' Sq D QO's were very, very hard to detect from the real things. IMHO, your average & above average sparky would have a very difficult time. The 'wholesalers' should have a better shot, but they may be making $$$$.

As said before...buy from a reputable source, and you should be OK. Bargains can come back to bite!

Well, if I were to go into business making counterfeit circuit breakers, I'd at least build in a narrow strip of conductor inside it to act like a fuse if a fault were to occur. A fused switch. "@#$$@ circuit breaker won't reset! And I thought Square D was a quality brand. %$#%^%#!". Idea being that the user will just think he got bad product, but not burn the place down, inviting an investigation. And I'd make illegal profit, as a fuse link is much cheaper than a real circuit breaker mechanism.

I like to cut things apart that fail in an unexpected way. That trick would become apparent pretty fast.

It is now estimated that 1 in 36 of all one pound coins in circulation in the UK are forgeries. Over 2 million were detected and destroyed in 2010 alone. Now who do you suppose has the manufacturing and distribution ability to accomplish that kind of volume?

Alan:
Since I'm on this side of the pond...
What is the metal composition of the pound coin?
Is the same metal composition used in the fakes?

H: It's a small brass-colored coin, about 7/8" in diameter, made of copper-zinc-nickel, current value about US $1.60. There are about 1.4 billion in circulation. It's quite thick, about an eighth-inch, with 'Decus et Tutamen' [a decoration and a protection] impressed in the edge milling, a quote from Virgil, making forgery quite difficult. The Queen's head is on the face of all British coins, [changing as she gets older, she is now in her eighties, crowned 1953], the obverse designs change regularly. There's a two-pound and a five-pound coin too, brass with a nickel colored inner disc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_pound_(British_coin)
http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=e...=2&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

Alan:
Thank you!! It seems to me that someone who is being creative enough, sure is not choosing a high value of currency to forge. That seems equivilent to printing $1 US bills, instead of $50 or $100 bills.

The advantage in counterfeiting small denominations is nobody pays much attention to them. These days in paper, they might just be using a laser printer.
I agree coins are tougher to make but they also tend to have less detail to copy.

We have another problem. Our Mint also makes Swaziland's lilangeni from exactly the same blanks. At 14 to the £ these swamp certain area's vending machines!
Paper money is getting harder to forge. Our notes are made with a special tough cotton rag with a crisp 'feel' and are intaglio printed, with a hologram. Even a blind person can feel a litho or laser copy £ is duff, as intaglio indents the note on the engraving lines.

BTW. The Nazis forced jewish experts in WWII to make perfect copies of our old black and white 'fivers'. These were dropped over England in vast numbers: And practically every one was handed in to the police! The forgers failed to make perfect US dollars, defeated by your rotary press method which slightly distorts the printing.