Unfortunately, there are a number of High Quality Counterfeit versions selling on the Internet today, and some would even fool professionals! While these appear to be legitimate products, they are not - often originating in China and bought cheaply (around £20 )then resold in the UK as genuine for between £89 - £150 - they not only deprive genuine resellers, but for you, the customer, they can be a nightmare and a waste of your hard earned money, and contain viruses and other malware which can compromise your computer system. You may be very happy, having purchased what you thought to be a genuine product at a knock down price. Will you be as happy when Microsoft block the software in a few months time when the Volume License Key is exceeded? Will you be happy if your Bank Account is emptied because there are trojans or keyloggers installed on your system as a result of installing this "Bargain"? The software *will* eventually be Blocked by Microsoft, and cease working.

They will install, and often, do not require activation, as genuine products do. After activation, and as part of normal updates, (even on non activated counterfeits)your PC will download the Office Genuine Advantage Tool from Microsoft. Even if they initially pass Validation (and they may well do so, since the Product Key used by the counterfeiters is a genuine key, but stolen from a large corporation) - When the key exceeds the allowable number of activations, the key will be Blocked by Microsoft. This will result in messages on your screen, telling you that you do not have Genuine Microsoft Office

The sellers of Counterfeit Software are not knowledgable. Often they will state that it is "Licensed for 3 PCs" or "Licensed for non commercial use on up to 3 PCs". This, in fact, is either ignorance or deceit on the part of the seller. The ONLY office Product that is in fact licensed for 3 PC's is "OFFICE HOME AND STUDENT"
The back of the Box, both fakes, and genuine, lists all Office Suites. Office Home & Student has an asterisk (*) before the product name.
At the bottom of the box rear cover, there is a statement "*Licensed for non-commercial use on up to 3 computers"

The asterisk by the product name corresponds to the asterisk on the statement.

After installation, the product, if FILE - HELP is selected on Outlook, it will say OUTLOOK 2010 PART OF MICROSOFT OFFICE PROFESSIONAL PLUS 2010 or PART OF MICROSOFT OFFICE ENTERPRISE 2010, instead of the correct "Part of Office Professional 2010".

So, how can the average person tell, other than the fact that the seller is offering at £95 instead of £360, the RRP? Below is the only method currently of identifying, before purchase, a Genuine Product - the "Certificate of Authenticity", which is on the top of every retail box.

There are pictures, to assist you in determining if your Product is a high quality counterfeit item:

 The Part Number for USA Version is 269-14964, and will be made in USA or Puerto Rico

The Part Number for UK Verson is 269-14670, and will state Origin:Ireland

Below are two photographs of the CoA Label on top of the box, the first from a genuine product, the second from a counterfeit product

GENUINE: Origin Ireland, Correct Part Number for UK, Holes on far left of CoA Label have indistinct edges and do not appear to be holes.

FAKE: "Made in USA" but Part Number is UK Version 269-14670, and "SKU" preceding the part number. Holes in CoA on far left have edges that are too cleanly cut and are clearly holes. Many Fakes also carry the Yellow "Ingram Micro" Label, however it should be noted that the Ingram Micro labels are also fake and should not be associated with Ingram Micro

FAKE: Chinese language on the DVD case insert, DVD Finish is on a stick on label, and not printed directly onto the disk surface as it should be, and print quality of instruction leaflet is poor.

As we have also ascertained, when the disc is inserted it shows a startup screen for installing Office Professional Plus, not the correct Office Professional 2010