Counterfeit goods may be more prolific than you think. Counterfeit purses, clothing, DVDs, and music CDs may fist come to mind, but the counterfeit industry extends far beyond these items and may be affecting your safety and security.
The FBI estimates that as many as 1 in 10 IT products produced today is counterfeit. This includes computers and computer accessories, but also smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, security cameras and monitoring equipment, networking hardware, and access control readers.
If you own a company or manage a community, this has major implications for the products you purchase. Even if they are from an authorized retailer, they may, in actuality have been purchased on the cheap from a counterfeiter and sold to you at full market price.
Other people make the conscious choice to purchase counterfeit goods as they can be substantially less expensive than the proprietary versions. The trouble with this is, the products are also often made from cheap materials, may break easily, provide backdoors to hackers and viruses, and do not live up to national safety and security standards.
Despite the widespread nature of this problem, there are some precautions you can take to combat counterfeit devices in your business. Buy directly from the manufacturer, not third-party resale companies, and do your research before purchasing. If the device is substantially less expensive than equivalent devices, chances are something is amiss.
When hiring a safety and security company to protect your business or community, ask about what kind of technology they use and ask to take a look. Check it over fo obvious imperfections, like misspelled brand names and cheap looking or feeling materials.
One thing you can always count on is that here at Curtis Protective Services, we respect manufacturers as well as our clients and will never buy counterfeit goods. Your safety and security is our top priority and we believe that purchasing quality technology and tools will help us to maintain a high standard of service for you.
