Businesses have been warned to exercise caution when buying
software over the internet after an online software pirate was
sentenced to 15 months in prison.
London-based Bilal Khan, 23, used a network of websites and auction
sites along with a string of aliases to dupe customers with his
counterfeit copies, in a racket that is believed to have netted him
at least £4,500 a month.
As well as supplying his customers with pirated software, Khan also
withheld orders. He was sentenced on 4 July following a three-year
investigation by Lewisham Trading Standards and the Business
Software Alliance.
A spokeswoman for the BSA said the case was particularly bad
because the copies looked very much like the genuine article in
terms of price. "This is a case where customers could be easily
fooled," she said, adding that users should "do their homework and
be careful where they buy from".
"If the price looks too good to be true it probably is," she said.
"We want to make sure the internet is a safe and legal environment
for users to buy software in."
Khan was originally tried for the offences at Greenwich Crown
Court, following a raid on his house in 2000, but he jumped bail
and fled to Pakistan. He was re-arrested on a visit to England.