This could be a huge identity and security problem for anyone who has incidentally purchased one of these counterfeit products. While Symantec was able to find the producers of the fake counterfeit software, they will probably have a very difficult time trying to find all of the consumers who purchased the software. Since the sold software is counterfeit, who knows if the creators or distributors included malware that could be damaging to ones computer or identity.

Symantec Corp., the world’s biggest maker of security software, sued a network of U.S. and Canadian distributors that the company claimed sold counterfeit Symantec products, including Norton Antivirus and pcAnywhere.

The distributors include Los Angeles-based ANYI and SILI Inc., and G.T. Micro of Markham, Ontario, as well as seven people associated with the companies, Symantec said in a complaint filed last month in federal court in Los Angeles.

“ANYI, SILI and their affiliates run a global counterfeit distribution operation with a major focus in the United States and Canada,” William Plante, Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec’s director of security, said in a statement Wednesday. “Their operation posed a tremendous threat to our customers.”[more]

Tags: Malware, Scams, Identity Theft