The European Commission has warned of a continued surge in counterfeits of perfumes and cosmetics entering the EU, with 694,633 fake products seized by customs officials last year. That said, this actually represents a fall in numbers from 2004, being 89% of the number seized in that year.
Stressing Chinese fraudsters were important in this trade, with 27% of fake imported perfumes and cosmetics seized coming from mainland China, Britain is also shown as a centre of counterfeiting, with 15% of products seized coming from the UK.
Other cosmetics and perfume hotspots included 13% from Vietnam, 10% India, 5% United Arab Emirates, 4% Bulgaria, 4% Hong Kong, 3% Canada and 19% other countries.
Brussels is worried about the health risks. “A secret wave of dangerous fakes is threatening the people in Europe,” warned EU taxation commissioner László Kovács. “We must quickly identify and deal with new routes of fraud and constantly changing counterfeit patterns.”