It’s always a smart idea to think twice before you buy something online. But most people are spontaneous in their shopping decisions and tend to trust whatever it is that the seller is presenting them.

In reality, the counterfeit industry is a global industry worth as much as $461 billion, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Another report created in partnership with the European Union's Intellectual Property Office showed that footwear is the product counterfeited the most, followed by leather clothing goods and gadgets.

Not only are brands, designers, and creators all well aware of the scope of the problem, some go to great lengths to curb the sales of counterfeit versions of their original products. For example, Nike has decided to pull its products from Amazon to “try to mitigate the damaging effects that counterfeit goods were having on its brand,” Forbes reports.

There’s no question that brands and their loss of revenue, as well as intellectual property, are all greatly damaged by the counterfeit culture, but you may wonder what’s the threat in it for the consumers. Well, knock-off products are most often made to appear identical to the original product, but in reality, their quality, composition, ingredients, and the ways they were made have nothing in common with the original product.

The counterfeits equal to very poor quality, which can have dire consequences on consumers' health. Forbes explains that knock-off makeup and skincare products, for example, have “the package and product that might look identical to the authentic brand, but when applied, they can cause skin infections and rashes.”

The same goes with electronics where “counterfeit automotive parts, smartphone/tablets, and even vapes can cause serious personal injury and even death.” Such threats should be enough to scare customers away from knock-off products for good, but many, however, nevertheless get lured by low prices and seemingly identical appearances.

In reality, though, if the product advertised online seems too good to be true, it’s because it most likely is.