Online sales are the biggest source of counterfeit goods

Online retail and auction sites such as eBay have become the "biggest source" of counterfeit goods, according to one industry expert.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Group has said this week that the precise extent of the problem is difficult to pinpoint as the anonymity provided by the internet means that it "couldn't be a better medium for the criminals".

Ruth Orchard, director general of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, said: "Our members find that, these days, [online sales are] the biggest single challenge to them – that's the biggest source.

"Up to 90 per cent of some goods on offer on eBay are fakes…There's all kinds of ways in which the [legitimate] industries are affected…You're talking about confidence in the brand, the economic impact and what the money's going to when it goes to the counterfeiters."

She added that internet service providers should be made more responsible and suggested implementing a 'three strikes and you're out' policy, similar to the one which has already been introduced in France.

According to a survey carried out for the BBC's Money Programme, 19 per cent of Brits have bought or suspected they have bought counterfeit goods.

While 61 per cent of respondents thought that buying counterfeit goods was theft, ten per cent saw nothing wrong with it.