Facebook ‘failing to halt the trade of counterfeit goods’

Facebook has been accused of not doing enough to crackdown on the sale of counterfeit items in the run up to Christmas.

Fake goods ripping off brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Louis Vuitton have flooded onto the social media giant’s site, generating millions of pounds.

Trading Standards has called out Facebook for not tracking down and removing posts advertising the bogus designer items, even after it has been given warnings.

The body claims the Facebook does not have a dedicated official for it to alert about fraudulent activity, meaning investigators have to fill out an online form. 

A counterfeit Rolex can be bought online for as little as £150 – compared to the recommended retail price of £3,950

Gucci trainers worth £440 are also available at £40 on Facebook’s online marketplace

Mike Andrews, from the National Trading Standards eCrime team, said: ‘They do make money from this and are not doing enough to take down these products.

‘We have tried and tried, but at the moment they often do not properly respond to the requests to take down the products. It’s unsatisfactory.’

One Facebook page called Ray-Ban Sunglasses is selling knock-off versions of the popular brand’s products at almost 10 per cent of its retail price.

Another, entitled Replica Handbags, Clothing and Accessories has an Yves Saint Laurent bag on offer for £40; a fraction of the real version’s price of £340.

While Facebook has taken down adverts for counterfeit goods, its marketplace – where sellers can list their items similarly to eBay – is not monitored in the same way.

Dodgy traders now prefer to use sites such as Facebook as opposed to boot sales as listings are free and can be created using an unregistered phone number.

One Facebook page called Ray-Ban Sunglasses is selling knock-off versions of the popular brand’s products at almost 10 per cent of its retail price