This fake NGK scam seems to be based in the US, as I saw exactly the same boxes of plugs being sold by several ebay sellers over there. I alerted NGK to their presence and noticed the ads disappeared soon after. My guess is there is some kind of crime syndicate, manufacturing them cheaply in China or some former Soviet country, then selling them off a few at a time in different countries online. I am sure a lot end up at flea markets and garage sales too. There are also those who buy them and later realize they have been conned, who then try to re-sell them to other buyers. Then there are those buyers who purchase a box full and sell them off one at a time to make a profit. In this case one victim of the fraud soon turns into many people. Somebody inevitably gets hurt by using these dodgy products in their engines. I recall buying a set of NGK plugs on ebay many years ago and using them in my car. I had only recently had the engine completely overhauled. Before long I had serious engine problems and I recall the mechanic saying he did not like the look of the plugs I had been using. I did not know that there were fake NGK plugs on the market in those days, but am now convinced that fake plugs were the most likely cause.
Perhaps this fake plugs topic deserves a new thread?
I will attach some photos of the fake plugs. It makes me really angry to think that I was going to use these plugs in my recently restored vintage engines and the person who sold them to me could not give a damn. He was only interested in making a fast buck.
