More than half of British consumers have bought a counterfeit product online in the last year, with a quarter doing so knowingly, a report has found.
The report highlights recent European Commission figures showing that shoes, clothes and accessories such as handbags, purses and wallets are the three most commonly counterfeited products.
The latest research found that 25 per cent of British consumers had knowingly bought one or more counterfeit products online in the last 12 months, while 26 per cent did so unknowingly.
Of those who reported counterfeits to online retailers, more than 40 per cent said that they had not received a refund from the seller.
The survey found that younger consumers are the most vulnerable. Twenty-five per cent of consumers aged 18