Fifth of Britons buy fake goods

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A fifth of Britons have bought counterfeit goods, a survey conducted for the BBC's Money Programme suggests.

Over a third of those people said they had bought pirated DVDs, while 24% said they had bought fake fashion goods such as handbags or sunglasses.

Almost a third said they had picked up the goods from a market stall, while 19% said they had bought them overseas.

Counterfeit goods cost UK business Â£11bn a year, according to the Anti-Counterfeiting Group.

While the majority of the people surveyed (61%) said they believed buying fakes was theft, 10% saw nothing wrong with buying counterfeit goods.

A further 21% said they knew it was wrong and probably theft but they would still buy a counterfeit.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos Mori in late November and early December.

Of 991 adults surveyed, 19% said they had either bought or suspected they had paid for a counterfeit good.