Major Counterfeit Software Bust

Updated 25July2007 -- Link to Windows Genuine Advantage Blog article with samples of counterfeit Windows Vista DVDs: Biggest Counterfeit Bust ... ever. The included photographic sample illustrate why it is so easy to fool people with the counterfeit.

As reported by the FBI:

"For Immediate Release
DATE: July 23, 2007

INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED JOINTLY BY FBI AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES IN PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA RESULTS IN MULTIPLE ARRESTS IN CHINA AND SEIZURES OF COUNTERFEIT MICROSOFT AND SYMANTEC SOFTWARE

A joint investigation conducted by the FBI and authorities with the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has resulted in multiple arrests and the seizure of more than a half billion dollars worth of counterfeit software, announced J. Stephen Tidwell, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, and Steven Hendershot, the FBI’s Legal Attache in Beijing, China.

The operation, codenamed “Summer Solstice,” began in 2005 and since then, law enforcement in both countries have worked closely by sharing information to jointly investigate multinational conspiracies by groups who manufacture and distribute counterfeit software products around the world. This unprecedented cooperative effort led to the arrest of twenty five individuals, the search of multiple businesses and residential locations, asset seizures by the Chinese government worth over $7 million, and the seizure of over 290,000 counterfeit software CDs and COAs (certificates of authenticity) in China. The counterfeit software has an estimated retail value of $500 million. In addition, Agents with the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office executed 24 searches and asset seizure warrants, yielding approximately $2 million in counterfeit software products, in addition to assets seized by the U.S. government worth over $700,000.

Operation Summer Solstice encompasses multiple investigations currently being conducted by the FBI in Los Angeles and the MPS, Economic Crime Investigation Department (ECID), in which criminal organizations responsible for manufacturing and distributing counterfeit software have been identified in both Shanghai and Shenzhen; as were distributors located in the United States.

As much as I protested WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) being added to Windows XP, I have no objections to it being included as a part of Windows Vista. My reasoning? WGA was not part of XP when the license was purchased and the initial software caused many headaches. However, with a brand new operating system in Windows Vista, it is known that WGA is included from the start.

Complete report at Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Via Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog

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