
Counterfeit mobiles ‘cost $6 billion a year’
Black market sales of counterfeit and substandard mobile phones are a US$6 billion a year problem, says a new report into the global counterfeit phone market. Research from the Mobile Manufacturers Forum (MMF) says around 148 million counterfeit or substandard mobile phones were sold worldwide in 2013, mostly in developing countries. “They were sold through visible retail sites, unofficial retail outlets, online auction websites and in local black markets,” said MMF secretary general Michael Milligan. “With the average knock-off phone selling for around US$45, our conservative estimate of US$6 billion in illegal sales represents a massive financial loss for governments and the mobile phone industry. “Governments can combat the growing counterfeit phone problem with new technology which can identify substandard devices on the mobile network and permanently block users who don’t change to a genuine product.”
Related Posts
P740-million fake, smuggled goods seized in Pasay, Manila warehouses.
Various counterfeit products, such as clothes and cosmetics, worth P740 million...
Coalition says youth are target of contraband tobacco
The seizure of $14,000 worth of illegal cigarettes last week in Pictou County has...
£70,000 worth of counterfeit goods seized in Swindon
More than £70,000 worth of illicit cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol was seized...
Warning issued over smoke detector bearing counterfeit UL mark
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) last week issued a warning regarding a Hochiki...


