Fake Microsoft Office CDs flood UK market

Microsoft has put out a desperate plea to stop a wave of counterfeit Office 97 software from entering UK sales channels.

Anti piracy manager, Dave Gregory, estimated that 100,000 fake CD's will appear in the UK this week, causing Microsoft to lose up to £35m in sales. The retail price of a single Office 97 CD is £350.

"We are concerned that the CDs contain virulent viruses which could harm consumers," he said. The company is contacting channel partners and trading standards authorities in an attempt to stem the tide.

The fraudsters faked the packaging process of KAO InfoSystems, the media manufacturer which supplies CDs to Microsoft's European Operations Centre (EOC) in Dublin. The counterfeit software is branded with "rejected by EOC" stamps.

"Everything looks like it should - even the CD hologram," said Gregory. "But they made one big mistake: you can't buy KAO-branded software on the streets. Anything that EOC rejects is immediately incinerated."

Microsoft blames the crime on drug syndicates in the Far East, which Gregory claimed spend up to £750,000 each time they set up a forgery unit. "In a ten year investigation, we found that drug gangs are increasingly using software counterfeiting to launder money," he said. "This is why we are trying to increase the penalties for software fraud."

Microsoft first discovered the fake software while investigating the stock of one of its resellers, in an unconnected incident.

"We suspect a lot of this will be sold to system builders in the UK, who build unbranded PC's for small offices," said Gregory. "Dealers should be suspect of any Office 97 saying KAO Ireland, or software that has a poor quality hologram on its certificate of authority."

Anyone coming into contact with the pirated software is advised to call Microsoft's anti-piracy hotline on 0345 002 000 extension 999.