New Jersey: Where the Rubber Did Not Meet the Road

And a fortunate thing, that. Via MyCentralJersey.com, news that police are seeking an Edison man caught with 600,000 fake condoms. While not identifying the brand of condom, a police spokesman confirmed that the condoms were "substandard."

Eternal Vigilance

Andrew Jackson, the American President whose long face adorns the twenty dollar bill, once remarked that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. In these hard times, CBS News reports that counterfeits are pervasive, hard to spot and dangerous. Consumers and businesses alike without much disposable cash can be tempted to look the other way for a good price on an item of questionable origin. Given the dangers of counterfeits cited by the article, eternal vigilance might also be the price of safety and peace of mind.

Stopping Traffic

It's the old story - attract the attention of a state trooper for a minor traffic infraction, only to be discovered couriering around over 600 counterfeit handbags worth over $100,000. Well, except for the handbags part, but still, contraband is contraband, and two Chinese nationals are in hot water over their indiscretion. Apparently, police dogs sniffed out the rogue bags. Who knew counterfeit handbags had their own smell? Or that police dogs were so smart?

Risking It All for Lust

Viagra has changed the lives of millions of men. What factors such as age, diet and stress have contributed to Erectile Dysfunction can be successfully combated with application of the little blue pill. But such advances in pharmacological technology are expensive, and those costs are passed down to the consumer in the form of high prices. So despite knowing little to nothing about many of the internet vendors dealing "discount" prescription drugs, many men have attempted to purchase Viagra online.

Now the BBC has published a piece illustrating the extreme danger these online hunters at the intersection of lustful and miserly face. And it's not just Viagra. Drugs for the treatment of conditions ranging from cancer to heart disease proliferate online, despite that 90% of all prescription drugs sold online are fake. These counterfeit medicines are often enough made up of materials such as "talcum powder, or even rat poison." The problem is worse in Third World countries, where counterfeits used to fight conditions such as malaria have killed scores of vulnerable people. But in the rich United Kingdom, many men have bypassed legitimate channels to purchase drugs. Aside from a 90% chance of having just thrown their money away, these men face a real risk to their health.

Ticket to Nowhere

My Authentics does not normally focus on counterfeit tickets, but ticket search engine Ninja Tickets has issued a press release guide to sleuthing out counterfeit tickets to sporting events. It contains some useful tips and is certainly somewhat related to our own topical sweet spot. So if you're in the market for some resold tickets, please read this guide before wasting your hard-earned money on fake tickets.

Presents Roasting on an Open Fire

Classic crooner Nat King Cole would not approve of this Christmas fire hazard: Counterfeit Christmas Lights Pose a Shocking Hazard. I can think of few things more detrimental to Christmas cheer than an electrical fire burning down the Christmas tree.

Terror in a Bottle

From The Independent in Britain, millions of British citizens could potentially be at risk from counterfeit medication. From high blood pressure and anti-cancer medications to Viagra, the problem is serious. With the World Health Organization estimating that 1% of all medications worldwide are counterfeit, seven million prescriptions in Britain per year could be counterfeit.

The counterfeit medicine problem is complicated by several factors: first, medicines are frequently packaged and repackaged and sold and resold in Europe. This sheer complexity of the supply chain can make enforcement difficult. And diagnosis of counterfeit medications can also be difficult. Was it a fake pill that caused a "natural death" in a sick patient? Current medical procedures do not test the medication, meaning that plenty of dangerous pills could be ingested

And one other thing to worry about: terrorists. Intentional adulteration and sabotage of medicine is possible. With detection difficult and danger high, poisoning drugs could be low-hanging fruit for evil doers.