Beware of fake products

Tamil Nadu police have issued an 8-point advisory to the public to recognise and stay away from fake products. In the last three years, police have detected 131 cases of counterfeit products and arrested 117 people, besides seizing fake products valued around Rs 1.8 crore. A nu­m­ber of fake products such as toners for computer printers, spare parts for vehicles, air filters, toner powders, toner cleaning blades, diesel filters, fan regulators, fan, car spare parts, hand bags, suitcases, mobile phones, chargers, laptop batteries, spark plugs, clutch plates, cosmetics items, perfumes, oils, soaps, shower gel and after shave lotions are available in the market. The vendors who sell fake products do not issue receipts and thus avoid remitting taxes. “The use of fake products leads to adverse side effects,” police pointed out. The state video piracy cell, which is the agency dealing with cases related to fake products, advises the public to purchase goods only from authorised dealers. A genuine product will have its label and product details on the pack. “Look for the possible flaws in the labels, absence of authentic trademark, logos and holograms,” a video piracy cell official said. People are advised to check the websites of the original manufactures for product details rather than getting cheated by fraudulent sellers. Manufactures should let the public know the quality of their products by advertising in the media so that the people would be able choose the genuine product. A low price sho­uld not be a criterion for purchase of products by consumers, says a press release from the video piracy cell. Police also said that enforcers of intellectual property rights (EIPR) had been helping them to detect cases of counterfeit products.