0:00:01.086,0:00:04.575
Two years ago, I set off[br]from Central London on the Tube

0:00:04.575,0:00:07.006
and ended up somewhere[br]in the east of the city

0:00:07.006,0:00:08.875
walking into a self storage unit

0:00:08.875,0:00:13.419
to meet a guy that had[br]2,000 luxury polo shirts for sale.

0:00:13.419,0:00:15.427
And as I made my way down the corridor,

0:00:15.427,0:00:18.149
a broken, blinking light made it[br]just like the cliche scene

0:00:18.149,0:00:20.116
from a gangster movie.

0:00:20.116,0:00:23.210
Our man was early, and he was[br]waiting for me in front of a unit

0:00:23.210,0:00:26.265
secured with four padlocks down the side.

0:00:26.265,0:00:27.478
On our opening exchange,

0:00:27.478,0:00:29.420
it was like a verbal sparring match,

0:00:29.420,0:00:31.401
where he threw the first punches.

0:00:31.401,0:00:32.590
Who was I?

0:00:32.590,0:00:34.115
Did I have a business card?

0:00:34.115,0:00:36.014
And where was I going to sell?

0:00:36.014,0:00:38.792
And then, he just started opening up,

0:00:38.792,0:00:40.274
and it was my turn.

0:00:40.274,0:00:42.647
Where were the polo shirts coming from?

0:00:42.647,0:00:44.335
What paperwork did he have?

0:00:44.335,0:00:47.374
And when was his next[br]shipment going to arrive?

0:00:47.374,0:00:49.840
I was treading the fine between[br]asking enough questions

0:00:49.840,0:00:51.325
to get what I needed

0:00:51.325,0:00:53.992
and not enough for him[br]to become suspicious,

0:00:53.992,0:00:55.503
because what he didn't know

0:00:55.503,0:00:59.738
is that I'm a counterfeit investigator,

0:00:59.738,0:01:02.748
and after 20 minutes or so[br]of checking over the product

0:01:02.748,0:01:06.128
for the telltale signs[br]of counterfeit production,

0:01:06.128,0:01:08.706
say, badly stitched labels[br]or how the packaging

0:01:08.706,0:01:11.505
had a huge brand logo[br]stamped all over the front of it,

0:01:11.505,0:01:13.401
I was finally on my way out,

0:01:13.401,0:01:16.555
but not before he insisted[br]on walking down to the street with me

0:01:16.555,0:01:18.290
and back to the station.

0:01:18.290,0:01:22.250
And the feeling after these meetings[br]is always the same:

0:01:22.250,0:01:24.286
my heart is beating like a drum,

0:01:24.286,0:01:26.754
because you never know[br]if they've actually bought your story,

0:01:26.754,0:01:30.170
or they're going to start following you[br]to see who you really are.

0:01:30.170,0:01:32.741
Relief only comes when[br]you turn the first corner

0:01:32.741,0:01:36.393
and glance behind[br]and they're not standing there.

0:01:36.393,0:01:38.987
But what our counterfeit[br]polo shirt seller certainly didn't realize

0:01:38.987,0:01:42.955
is that everything I'd seen and heard[br]would result in a dawn raid on his house,

0:01:42.955,0:01:44.601
him being woken out of bed

0:01:44.601,0:01:48.835
by eight men on his doorstep[br]and all his product seized.

0:01:48.835,0:01:52.289
But this would reveal[br]that he was just a pawn

0:01:52.289,0:01:55.795
at the end of a counterfeiting network[br]spanning three continents,

0:01:55.795,0:01:59.024
and he was just the first loose thread[br]that I'd started to pull on

0:01:59.024,0:02:01.951
in the hope that it would all unravel.

0:02:01.951,0:02:04.573
Why go through all that trouble?

0:02:04.573,0:02:07.603
Well, maybe counterfeiting[br]is a victimless crime?

0:02:07.603,0:02:09.932
These big companies,[br]they make enough money,

0:02:09.932,0:02:11.226
so if anything,

0:02:11.226,0:02:14.440
counterfeiting is just[br]a free form of advertising, right?

0:02:14.440,0:02:16.839
And consumers believe just that,

0:02:16.839,0:02:18.667
that the buying and selling of fakes

0:02:18.667,0:02:20.341
is not that big a deal.

0:02:20.341,0:02:25.086
But I'm here to tell you[br]that that is just not true.

0:02:25.086,0:02:29.102
What the tourist on holiday doesn't see[br]about those fake handbags

0:02:29.102,0:02:31.503
is they may well[br]have been stitched together

0:02:31.503,0:02:34.989
by a child that was trafficked[br]away from her family,

0:02:34.989,0:02:37.410
and what the car repair shop[br]owner doesn't realize

0:02:37.410,0:02:39.427
about those fake brake pads

0:02:39.427,0:02:41.666
is they may well be lining the products

0:02:41.666,0:02:44.511
with an organized crime gang

0:02:44.511,0:02:46.236
involved in drugs and prostitution.

0:02:46.236,0:02:49.037
And while those two things[br]are horrible to think about,

0:02:49.037,0:02:51.438
it gets much worse,

0:02:51.438,0:02:55.250
because counterfeiting[br]is even funding terrorism.

0:02:55.250,0:02:57.431
Let that sink in for a moment.

0:02:57.431,0:03:00.420
Terrorists are selling fakes[br]to fund attacks,

0:03:00.420,0:03:02.336
attacks in our cities

0:03:02.336,0:03:05.680
that try to make victims of all of us.

0:03:05.680,0:03:07.999
You wouldn't buy a live scorpion

0:03:07.999,0:03:10.983
because there is chance that it[br]would sting you on the way home,

0:03:10.983,0:03:13.006
but would you still buy a fake handbag

0:03:13.006,0:03:14.469
if you knew the profits

0:03:14.469,0:03:16.545
would enable someone to buy bullets

0:03:16.545,0:03:20.959
that would kill you and other[br]innocent people six months later?

0:03:20.959,0:03:22.656
Maybe not.

0:03:22.656,0:03:24.906
Okay, time to come clean.

0:03:24.906,0:03:26.203
In my youth, yeah,

0:03:26.203,0:03:28.965
I might look like I'm still[br]clinging on to it a bit,

0:03:28.965,0:03:32.737
I bought fake watches while on holiday[br]in the Canary Islands.

0:03:32.737,0:03:34.484
But why do I tell you this?

0:03:34.484,0:03:36.769
Well, we've all done it,

0:03:36.769,0:03:38.604
or we know someone that's done it,

0:03:38.604,0:03:42.250
and until this very moment, maybe[br]you didn't think twice about it,

0:03:42.250,0:03:43.709
and nor did I,

0:03:43.709,0:03:46.286
until I answered a 20-word cryptic advert

0:03:46.286,0:03:50.356
to become an intellectual[br]property investigator.

0:03:50.356,0:03:53.421
It said, "full training given[br]and some international travel."

0:03:53.421,0:03:57.192
Within a week, I was creating[br]my first of many aliases,

0:03:57.192,0:04:00.255
and in the 10 years since,[br]I've investigated fake car parts,

0:04:00.255,0:04:03.085
??. fake tech grooming tools,

0:04:03.085,0:04:05.169
fake bicycle parts,

0:04:05.169,0:04:07.063
and, of course,[br]the counterfeiter's favorite,

0:04:07.063,0:04:10.632
fake luxury leather goods,[br]clothing and shoes.

0:04:11.250,0:04:14.223
And what I've learned in the 10 years[br]of investigating fakes

0:04:14.223,0:04:16.201
is that once you start[br]to scratch the surface,

0:04:16.201,0:04:18.887
you find that they are rotten to the core,

0:04:18.887,0:04:20.972
as are the people and organizations

0:04:20.972,0:04:23.524
that are making money from them,

0:04:23.524,0:04:27.769
because they are profiting[br]on a massive, massive scale.

0:04:27.769,0:04:30.271
You can only make around[br]a hundred to 200 percent

0:04:30.271,0:04:32.156
selling drugs on the street.

0:04:32.156,0:04:35.877
You can make 2,000 percent[br]selling fakes online

0:04:35.877,0:04:38.098
with little of the same[br]risks or penalties.

0:04:39.070,0:04:41.469
And this quick, easy money[br]then goes on to fund

0:04:41.469,0:04:43.045
the more serious types of crime,

0:04:43.045,0:04:45.698
and it pays the way to making[br]these organizations,

0:04:45.698,0:04:49.221
these criminal organizations,[br]look more legitimate.

0:04:49.221,0:04:51.898
So let me bring you in on a live case.

0:04:51.898,0:04:54.076
Earlier this year, a series[br]of raids took place

0:04:54.076,0:04:56.733
in one of my longest-running[br]investigations.

0:04:56.733,0:04:59.809
Five warehouses were raided in Turkey,

0:04:59.809,0:05:03.645
and over two million finished[br]counterfeit clothing products were seized,

0:05:03.645,0:05:07.455
and it took 16 trucks[br]to take that all away.

0:05:07.455,0:05:08.871
But this gang had been clever.

0:05:08.871,0:05:12.144
They had gone through the lengths[br]of creating their own fashion brands

0:05:12.144,0:05:14.059
complete with registered trademarks

0:05:14.059,0:05:17.859
and even having photoshoots[br]on yachts in Italy.

0:05:17.859,0:05:21.459
And they would use these[br]completely unheard-of

0:05:21.459,0:05:24.660
and unsuspicious brand names[br]as a way of shipping container loads

0:05:24.660,0:05:28.974
of fakes to shell companies[br]that they'd set up across Europe.

0:05:28.974,0:05:32.392
And documents found during those raids[br]found that they'd been falsifying

0:05:32.392,0:05:34.378
shipping documents

0:05:34.378,0:05:37.308
so the customs officials[br]would literally have no idea

0:05:37.308,0:05:40.190
who had sent the products[br]in the first place.

0:05:40.190,0:05:42.570
When police got access[br]to just one bank account,

0:05:42.570,0:05:44.407
they found nearly three million euros

0:05:44.407,0:05:47.811
had been laundered out of Spain[br]in less than two years,

0:05:47.811,0:05:49.989
and just two days after those raids,

0:05:49.989,0:05:52.255
that gang were trying to bribe a law firm

0:05:52.255,0:05:54.782
to get their stock back.

0:05:54.782,0:05:58.122
Even now, we have no idea[br]where all that money went,

0:05:58.122,0:06:00.022
to who it went to, but you can bet

0:06:00.022,0:06:04.193
it's never going to benefit[br]the likes of you or me.

0:06:04.193,0:06:06.986
But these aren't just[br]low-level street thugs.

0:06:06.986,0:06:10.104
They're business professionals,[br]and they fly first class.

0:06:10.104,0:06:13.926
They trick legitimate businesses[br]with convincing fake invoices

0:06:13.926,0:06:14.855
and paperwork,

0:06:14.855,0:06:16.756
so everything just seems real,

0:06:16.756,0:06:20.099
and then they set up eBay[br]and Amazon accounts

0:06:20.099,0:06:23.525
just to compete with the people[br]they've already sold fakes to.

0:06:23.525,0:06:26.117
But this isn't just happening online.

0:06:26.117,0:06:28.146
For a few years, I also used to attend

0:06:28.146,0:06:30.826
automotive trade shows

0:06:30.826,0:06:33.563
taking place in huge exhibition spaces,

0:06:33.563,0:06:36.548
but away from the Ferraris[br]and the Bentleys and the flashing lights,

0:06:36.548,0:06:38.499
there'd be companies selling fakes,

0:06:38.499,0:06:41.345
companies with a brochure on the counter

0:06:41.345,0:06:44.774
and another one underneath[br]if you ask them the right questions.

0:06:44.774,0:06:47.578
And they would sell me fake car parts,[br]faulty fake car parts

0:06:47.578,0:06:52.148
that have been estimated to cause[br]over 36,000 fatalities,

0:06:52.148,0:06:55.396
deaths on our roads each year.

0:06:55.396,0:07:01.308
Counterfeiting is set to become[br]a 2.3 trillion dollar underground economy,

0:07:01.308,0:07:04.110
and the damage that can be done[br]with that kind of money,

0:07:04.110,0:07:06.587
it's really frightening,

0:07:06.587,0:07:10.205
because fakes fund terror.

0:07:10.205,0:07:12.559
Fake trainers on the streets of Paris,

0:07:12.559,0:07:14.524
fake cigarettes in West Africa,

0:07:14.524,0:07:17.370
and pirate music CDs in the USA

0:07:17.370,0:07:21.072
have all gone on to fund[br]terrorist training camps,

0:07:21.072,0:07:24.707
bought weapons and ammunition,[br]or the ingredients for explosives.

0:07:24.707,0:07:27.789
In June 2014, the French security services

0:07:27.789,0:07:33.873
stopped monitoring the communications[br]of Said and Cherif Kouachi,

0:07:33.873,0:07:35.566
the two brothers who had[br]been on a watchlist,

0:07:35.566,0:07:37.784
a terror watchlist, for three years.

0:07:37.784,0:07:40.824
But that summer, they were only[br]picking up that Cherif was buying

0:07:40.824,0:07:42.672
fake trainers from China,

0:07:42.672,0:07:45.729
so it signaled a shift away from extremism

0:07:45.729,0:07:49.677
into what was considered[br]a low level, petty crime.

0:07:49.677,0:07:52.241
The threat had gone away.

0:07:52.241,0:07:54.653
Seven months later, the two brothers[br]walked into the offices

0:07:54.653,0:07:57.539
of Charlie Hebdo magazine[br]and killed 12 people,

0:07:57.539,0:07:59.449
wounded 11 more,

0:07:59.449,0:08:03.048
with guns from[br]the proceeds of those fakes.

0:08:03.048,0:08:06.485
So whatever you think, this isn't[br]a faraway problem happening in China.

0:08:06.485,0:08:08.709
It's happening right here.

0:08:08.709,0:08:11.642
And Paris is not unique.

0:08:11.642,0:08:16.013
Ten years earlier, in 2004,[br]191 people lost their lives

0:08:16.013,0:08:18.578
when a Madrid commuter train was bombed.

0:08:18.578,0:08:23.174
The attack had been partly funded[br]by the sale of pirate music CDs in the US.

0:08:23.174,0:08:25.936
Two years prior to that,[br]an al Qaeda training manual

0:08:25.936,0:08:27.721
recommended explicitly

0:08:27.721,0:08:33.130
selling fakes as a good way[br]of supporting terror cells.

0:08:33.130,0:08:37.941
But despite this, despite the evidence[br]connecting terrorism and counterfeiting,

0:08:37.941,0:08:40.573
we do go on buying them,[br]increasing the demand

0:08:40.573,0:08:42.360
to the point where there's even a store

0:08:42.360,0:08:46.824
in Turkey called "I Love Genuine Fakes."

0:08:46.824,0:08:50.173
And you have tourists posing[br]with photographs on TripAdvisor

0:08:50.173,0:08:52.531
giving it five star reviews.

0:08:52.531,0:08:55.385
But would those same tourists[br]have gone into a store called

0:08:55.385,0:08:58.096
"I Love Genuine Fake Viagra Pills"

0:08:58.096,0:09:01.196
or "I Genuinely Love Funding Terrorism"?

0:09:01.576,0:09:03.021
I doubt it.

0:09:03.803,0:09:05.287
Many of us think

0:09:05.287,0:09:08.846
that we're completely helpless[br]against organized crime and terrorism,

0:09:08.846,0:09:11.574
that we can do nothing[br]about the next attack,

0:09:11.574,0:09:14.009
but I believe you can.

0:09:14.009,0:09:17.498
You can by becoming investigators too.

0:09:17.498,0:09:20.998
The way we cripple these networks[br]is to cut their funding,

0:09:20.998,0:09:23.351
and that means cutting the demand[br]and changing this idea

0:09:23.351,0:09:25.444
that it's a victimless crime.

0:09:25.444,0:09:27.877
Let's all identify counterfeiters

0:09:27.877,0:09:29.911
and don't give them our money.

0:09:29.911,0:09:32.619
So here's a few tips[br]from one investigator to another

0:09:32.619,0:09:34.467
to get you started.

0:09:34.467,0:09:35.934
Number one:

0:09:35.934,0:09:39.486
here's a typical online[br]counterfeiter's website.

0:09:39.486,0:09:41.154
Note the URL.

0:09:41.154,0:09:44.138
If you're shopping for sunglasses[br]or camera lenses, say,

0:09:44.138,0:09:47.653
and you come across a website[br]like medical-insurance-bankruptcy.com,

0:09:47.653,0:09:49.076
start to get very suspicious.

0:09:49.076,0:09:50.812
(Laughter)

0:09:50.812,0:09:54.144
But counterfeiters register[br]expired domain names as a way

0:09:54.144,0:09:57.648
of keeping up the old website's[br]Google page ranking.

0:09:57.648,0:10:00.173
Number two: is the website[br]screaming at you that everything

0:10:00.173,0:10:01.665
is 100 percent genuine,

0:10:01.665,0:10:06.241
but still giving you 75 percent[br]off the latest collection?

0:10:06.241,0:10:08.347
Look for words like "master copy,"

0:10:08.347,0:10:10.676
"overruns," "straight from the factory."

0:10:10.676,0:10:14.933
They could write this all in comic sans,[br]it's that much of a joke.

0:10:14.933,0:10:18.908
Number three: if you get[br]as far as the checkout page,

0:10:18.908,0:10:23.800
and you don't see "https"[br]or a padlock symbol next to the URL,

0:10:23.800,0:10:27.728
you should really start thinking[br]about closing the tab,

0:10:27.728,0:10:28.943
because these indicate[br]active security measures

0:10:28.943,0:10:32.697
that will keep your personal[br]and credit card information safe.

0:10:32.697,0:10:34.887
Okay, last one:

0:10:34.887,0:10:37.114
go hunting for the "Contact Us" page.

0:10:37.114,0:10:39.887
If you can only find a generic webform,

0:10:39.887,0:10:43.637
no company name, telephone number,[br]email address, postal address,

0:10:43.637,0:10:45.928
that's it, case closed.

0:10:45.928,0:10:48.175
You found a counterfeiter.

0:10:48.175,0:10:50.131
Sadly, you're going to have[br]to go back to Google

0:10:50.131,0:10:51.779
and start your shopping[br]search all over again,

0:10:51.779,0:10:56.328
but you didn't get ripped off,[br]so that's only a good thing.

0:10:56.328,0:11:00.372
As the world's most famous[br]fictional detective would say,

0:11:00.372,0:11:03.250
"Watson, the game is afoot."

0:11:03.250,0:11:05.460
Only this time, my investigator friends,

0:11:05.460,0:11:08.148
the game is painfully real.

0:11:08.148,0:11:10.367
So the next time you're shopping online,

0:11:10.367,0:11:12.109
or perhaps wherever it is,

0:11:12.109,0:11:15.682
look closer, question a little bit deeper,

0:11:15.682,0:11:18.085
and ask yourself, before[br]you hand over the cash

0:11:18.085,0:11:19.418
or click "Buy,"

0:11:19.418,0:11:21.423
am I sure this is real?

0:11:21.423,0:11:24.682
Tell your friend that used[br]to buy counterfeit watches

0:11:24.682,0:11:28.629
that you may just have brought[br]the next attack one day closer.

0:11:28.629,0:11:30.834
And, if you see an Instagram[br]advert for fakes,

0:11:30.834,0:11:32.470
don't keep scrolling past,

0:11:32.470,0:11:35.614
report it to the platform as a scam.

0:11:35.614,0:11:38.699
Let's shine a light on[br]the dark forces of counterfeiting

0:11:38.699,0:11:40.739
that are hiding in plain sight.

0:11:40.739,0:11:42.323
So please, spread the word

0:11:42.323,0:11:44.425
and don't stop investigating.

0:11:44.425,0:11:46.185
Thank you.

0:11:46.185,0:11:49.834
(Applause)