The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has warned of the circulation of counterfeit copies of BS 7671:2018, The IET Wiring Regulations.
The organisation has only become aware of this in the last week.
Misinformation in these fake copies could be devastating for electrical professionals and the general public at large – with missing or corrupted information potentially leading to unsafe work being carried out which could result in fire, electric shock or even death in the most extreme cases.
Mark Coles, head of technical regulations at the IET, said: “The counterfeit PDF copies of BS 7671:2018 we have seen initially look very convincing but are sprinkled with errors which can lead to dangerous practices. Unless you know the origin of the document how can you rely on it?”
To help combat this activity, an official hologram has been placed on the inside front cover of the IET Wiring Regulations. This makes it more difficult to counterfeit the guidance and easier for individuals to identify genuine copies of the IET’s books. The hologram contains the IET logo in two sizes and the word ‘genuine’. There are also extra identifiers, some of which can be seen with a magnifying glass.