More young people selling fakes online, customs says

Customs officers fear a growing number of young people are topping up their pocket money by selling fake goods online, after a dramatic rise in the number of arrests so far this year.

Many might be under the false impression that they cannot be tracked selling goods online or that they will not be criminally liable, said Superintendent Guy Fong Wing-kai, head of customs' intellectual property investigation group.

Some 45 people aged 21 or younger were arrested on suspicion of selling counterfeit goods, either online or in stores, in the first six months. This was a 67 per cent increase on the same period last year, when 25 were arrested.

Some 24 were university students or secondary school pupils. The youngest was a 14-year-old boy studying in Form Two, who was picked up in April while being recruited to deliver bogus goods. Last year, just nine of those arrested were students.

Most of the arrests involved online sales, often using social-media platforms. The goods sold included watches, leather handbags, sport shoes and mobile-phone accessories, and had often been bought from auction websites or on the mainland.

"We were told they could make between HK$1,000 and HK$2,000 a month selling bogus items online," Fong said. "They think no one can track them down in the cyberworld and that they have no criminal liability."