WITH a few pricey items on this year's Christmas list, it's tempting to give in to the friendly face of crime and line Del Boy's pockets.

But as British shoppers buying fake goods, we're costing the UK around £9bn, putting up to 4,100 people out of work and helping international crime rings to flourish.

This is one of the messages a hard-hitting Crimestoppers campaign aims to get across before Christmas shopping becomes a heady hotbed engulfing the nation's high streets.

Consumer Minister Melanie Johnson started this year's campaign by encouraging the public to use a national telephone hotline if they come into contact with suspicious goods.

We know the public's perception of counterfeiting is often based on characters like Del Boy a loveable rogue selling cheap fakes from a battered suitcase, she said.

They often have more sympathy for the guy selling fakes in the rain than the fact the ''Real McCoy's'' business interests are being damaged.

John Anderson of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG), which represents more than 200 UK businesses and brand owners, said one of the main aims of the campaign was to shake people out of the misplaced belief that counterfeiting doesn't hurt anybody.

Counterfeiting isn't a trivial or victimless crime it fills the coffers of drug traffickers and other organised crime groups, he said.

At the same time it robs countries of the revenues that fund vital public services and it destroys legitimate businesses, taking away current and future jobs.

Christmas is peak time for counterfeiters, with nearly 50 per cent of all fake toys, perfumes and ''character'' merchandise - like goods based on Harry Potter being sold a few weeks before the 25th.

Other fakes such as sports or designer clothing, CDs and videos are also in demand, with up to 35 per cent of sales made around this time of year.

But however tempting, shoppers should be aware they could be at risk from shoddy goods that fall apart leaving dangerous items that are not safely tested, such as toys and cosmetics.

And the recent UK Threat Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime by the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) highlighted the links between intellectual property theft (IP) and serious crime.

The report found more than 60 per cent of organised crime groups reported to be involved in IP theft were also involved in drug trafficking, while 25 per cent involved in immigration crime were also involved in counterfeiting.

This not only involved fake documents but many immigrants being used as sweatshop labour to produce the fake goods.

Roy Clark, director of Crimestoppers, said by phoning the hotline on 0800 555 111, anonymously, people could earn a reward for passing on valuable information.

Last year the line received more than half a million calls, with an arrest, a charge or a caution resulting from 17 per cent of them.

Mr Clark urged people to call the Crimestoppers hotline as, due to the nature of the business, many people could identify criminals involved in the trade.

This year we hope more people will resist the temptation to shop cheap and shop the cheats, he said.

Clothing and footwear companies suffer the largest loss of revenue to counterfeiting, losing a combined £727m every year.

However, the toys and sports sector suffers the greatest proportional loss of revenue, with around 11.5 per cent of annual revenue wiped out by counterfeiting, around £358m every year.

The perfume and toiletries sector loses an estimated 7.2 per cent of annual revenue, or 289m, while pharmaceutical companies lose an estimated 5.8 per cent, or £149m.

When it comes to job losses, Don McCabe, joint MD of CHIPS, an independent computer games retailer based in the north east of England, was forced to close a shop in Hartlepool after two years because his trade had been decimated by piracy.

All four employees lost their jobs and although the CHIPS chain had nine stores across the Midlands and the north of England, Mr McCabe found it difficult to expand because of the counterfeit industry.

I believe I would be able to double the size of my business increasing staff from 32 to 64 if it wasn't for the high levels of computer games piracy, he said.