Inspect the product before believing its label
A customer calling a cigarette pack genuine is not proof that it is. To spot counterfeit items in Probably Stolen, inspect the merchandise with the magnifying glass, compare its visible details with the relevant handbook, and identify a real discrepancy before confronting the seller. Correctly identifying a fake can lower the purchase price; a false accusation can damage your reputation.
The official Steam description of Probably Stolen confirms that cigarette inspection, counterfeit goods and appraisal are part of trading. The concrete inspection examples below come from player experience in a demo shopkeeping session.
Compare the pack with the handbook
The Mentor introduces cigarette authentication with a magnifying glass, a Hemingway identification guide and a color checker. Use the magnifying glass on the cigarette box, then keep the guide available as your reference rather than guessing from memory.
In the player's narrated inspections, useful comparison points include:
- Logo details: a small change in the design can reveal a mismatch.
- Lettering: check the brand's actual spelling, even when the logo and seal look convincing.
- Seal: compare it with the genuine example rather than treating a seal's presence alone as enough.
- Colors: use the supplied checker when judging a color discrepancy.
The examples include a pack with altered logo details and another whose lettering is wrong despite other details appearing correct. They show why checking only one prominent feature is unreliable. They are not a complete list of every possible fake.
Confront a seller only when you have a discrepancy
Once you have found the mismatch, select the corresponding issue in the customer interaction. The demo session shows the seller acknowledging an identified logo or lettering problem and reducing the price.
You can still decide whether to buy the counterfeit merchandise at its revised value. Discovering a fake does not make the item disappear, and buying it cheaply is a different decision from whether you can sell it safely afterward.
Relabeling a counterfeit item as genuine does not authenticate it. The same player experience presents that as a risky way to misrepresent the goods, with some customers more capable of detecting fraud than others.
Understand an apparently missing accusation option
A Steam community discussion about counterfeit dialogue describes a seller offering visibly bad cigarette packs while the interaction only lets the player say they are genuine.
Community replies explain that this seller already knows the packs are counterfeit and offers them at the counterfeit price. In that situation, there is no new deception to expose by accusing the seller. A genuine item can instead be acknowledged as such, but do not select that response merely because it is the only visible option.
Treat this as an explanation of the reported transaction type, not a blanket fix for every missing dialogue option or a reason to ignore a different problem in your own build.
FAQ
What tools help identify counterfeit cigarettes?
The demo tutorial provides a magnifying glass, the appropriate identification guide and a color checker.
Is the printed brand name enough?
No. Player experience shows lettering, logo details, seals and colors all being checked against the reference.
Do I have to buy an item after inspecting it?
Inspection and the purchase decision are separate. You can assess the item before deciding whether its actual price is worthwhile.
Does a Genuine label turn a fake into a real product?
No. Relabeling can misrepresent the merchandise; it does not remove the underlying authenticity problem.