BE CAREFUL when you buy a new computer system.
The 'original' software the dealer is selling you for hundreds of dollars may be fake.
This warning comes from software giant Microsoft which says that pirate syndicates are now working with unscrupulous computer system builders to peddle high-end counterfeit software that can almost pass off as the real McCoy.
Microsoft, said its corporate attorney for intellectual property Jonathan Selvasegaram, has received 'an increasing number' of complaints from both consumers and its business partners about counterfeit software being sold with new computer systems.
Mr Selvasegaram declined to elaborate as investigations are ongoing, but noted that a syndicate making high-end counterfeits in China busted a few months ago had been shipping its products here.
Previously, pirate syndicates used to peddle low-margin, easily-identified fakes.
In 2005, the company began noticing high-end fakes that come with holographic stickers, manuals and glossy retail boxes, which are 'practically indistinguishable' from originals, he said.
These counterfeits are also sold at prices close to the originals, to complete the illusion of legitimacy.
Such prices also mean that each sale could generate profits of hundreds of dollars, compared to the few dollars selling a low-end fake yields.
An enterprising Nanyang Technological University was jailed four months in 2005 for doing just this.
Mr Selvagaram, who spoke to The Straits Times on the sidelines of the trial of a man accused of selling pirated software, said consumers should go to the Microsoft's website for instructions on how to check if their products are legitimate.
Goh Hai Pah, who is in his late 40s, was sentenced to six months jail on Wednesday for selling pirated Microsoft software at his Ang Mo Kio shop.
He was caught with over 1,000 copies of pirated software like Windows, Office and Zoo Tycoon, with a street value of over $500,000 during a police raid in 2004.
Goh jumped bail after the first court hearing and was only arrested on Nov 13. This is why his case was only concluded on Wednesday.
Goh pleaded guilty at the Subordinate Court to ten charges of selling copyrighted software, which carries a maximum penalty of $1 million in fines and 50 years' jail.
In mitigation, Goh, who had a long history of offences dating back to 1996, said that he could not pay the fines and asked for a light jail sentence.
The prosecutor, senior partner Toh Kok Seng of Lee & Lee's, pressed the Court for a deterrent sentence, given the high value and quantity of the contraband, as well as Goh's previous flight from justice.
Lee & Lee had applied for, and obtained, a 'fiat' from the Attorney-General to prosecute the case on behalf of their client, Microsoft.