For the average person, the most worrying aspect of fake goods is safety.

Although well-known shops do occasionally sell fake goods by mistake, it's very rare, according to trading standards officers.

As the legal code grows fatter, so, too, do the supply and sophistication of fake goods.

But bear in mind that in Italy it is illegal to buy fake goods.

So what are the authorities doing to stop the trading of fake goods?

Also, European Union countries would have the power to halt the sale of fake goods and seize bank accounts.

Internet marketing and retail fraud involving health products may sell fake or worthless goods.

It is no secret that more than two thirds of fake goods intercepted on the European market come from China.

What irks him is when stores try to pass off fake goods as real, so customers do not get their money's worth.

And there's no shortage of fake goods on display to tempt shoppers with tight budgets.