EXCLUSIVE: Popular shopping websites and apps are littered with fake goods but fewer Scots face appearing before court as a result of selling them.
The number of Scots facing prosecution for selling counterfeit goods has plummeted in recent years despite a rise in shoppers complaining of being sold fakes.
Just four people were convicted in Scotland last year for flogging sham items, compared to 50 successful prosecutions in 2020/21 . Two people were cleared in 2024/25, while a further 19 charges are currently ongoing. There were just two prosecutions in 2023/24, with three individuals cleared.
The figures were revealed in a written answer from the Scottish Government to Tory MSP Pam Gosal. The drop in prosecutions comes at a time the UK’s entire counterfeit industry is worth more than £8 billion and is proven to have strong links to human trafficking and terrorist organisations.
The popularity of websites and apps such as eBay, Vinted and Depop for buying and selling clothing has led to a corresponding rise in criminal gangs flogging fake designer goods.
A survey of more than 1,300 online shoppers by Which? found that over the past two years, 32 per cent reported being scammed – most commonly by receiving incorrect or counterfeit goods – on secondhand marketplace apps.
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Citizens Advice said it had witnessed a 30 per cent rise in complaints about counterfeit goods being sold online in the last year.
Experts have warned the brands most commonly faked are Stone Island, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada. eBay and others have since launched authentication services for high end and expensive goods.
Gosal said: “Given the SNP’s relentless slashing of police budgets, it’s little wonder that fewer people are being charged for selling counterfeit goods. Our police force are continually expected to do more with less, but their ever-depleted resources mean they’re unable to investigate all crimes – and it’s the public who suffer.
“Rather than treating frontline policing with contempt, SNP ministers must deliver the necessary resources so our police can do their job.”
The rise in fakes being sold online led to the Scottish Anti-Illicit Trade Group (SAITG) being relaunched earlier this year, with the aim of combating counterfeiting and intellectual property crime in Scotland.
Supported by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the group brings together law enforcement, government and businesses to strengthen Scotland’s fight against this illicit trade.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Decisions on prosecution are a matter for the independent Lord Advocate. The police budget is increasing to a record £1.64 billion this year – up £90 million when compared to 2024-25.”
A COPFS spokesman said: “We take prosecutorial action based on the facts and circumstances of each case. Careful consideration will be given to any reports of alleged criminal conduct which are submitted by the police, or any specialist reporting agency, to the Procurator Fiscal.
“Criminal proceedings will be raised if the reports contain sufficient evidence of a crime and if it is appropriate and in the public interest to do so.”
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