Counterfeit goods are a booming sector and a special interest for organised crime groups, says Europol Director, Catherine de Bolle.
“What we see, organised crime groups use the opportunity (created by the coronavirus andemic) because they use the fear of the people,” says Bolle in a video for Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster. The criminals advertise what they call miracle drugs against the virus, or sell poorly produced protective masks, for enormous profit.
Examples of counterfeited goods are now everywhere. Last week U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced they seized 19 packages from Hong Kong, two from China and one each from Taiwan and Singapore worth more than $51,000 including counterfeit electronic devices such as HDMI switches, Apple AirPods and Nitendo gaming system look-a-likes.
Astute Electronics is run in accordance with quality processes including AS6081 that mitigates the risks of purchasing and supplying fraudulent/counterfeit electronic parts. For complete peace of mind, Astute offers the ACAP (Astute Counterfeit Avoidance Programme) whereby parts obtained through non-traceable routes are subjected to rigorous destructive and non-destructive testing. More information on counterfeit mitigation
