Durex has discovered boxes of counterfeit condoms in the United Kingdom that they believe were manufacturered in China. This might not be so much of a big deal if it weren't for the fact that these condoms are ten times less reliable than real Durex condoms. "This means they won't do what a condom should — guard against sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy," said Chris Bunniss, marketing director of Durex.

Of course, the figure "ten times less reliable" might have come from the marketting department of Durex as well, and might be an exaggeration, but Condoms are cheap, so why take the risk? Bunniss says the counterfeit packaging is a "very good match" and that "the packaging is very convincing." However, he does point out a few flaws that you can look for: The letter "C" at the end of the serial number looks like an "E" or an Euro sign. On the condom foil itself, the batch number is printed as VR3073 followed by a "U".