Is this a genuine Knopfler?

The Web site for recording artist Mark Knopfler is warning his fans about a new spin on the old Dire Straits theme of “money for nothing” -- possible fake Knopfler autographs being sold on the Internet.

Under the heading “EBay Fakes,” the site notes that “it has come to our notice that a number photographs, CD liners, etc., are being sold on EBay with what we suspect could be fake Mark Knopfler autographs. It may be that the seller is unaware that the autograph may not be genuine, but we strongly advise you to be very wary of buying such items.”

Terry Kilburn, who runs Mark Knopfler News on the artist’s official site, www.mark-nopfler.com/ragpickers_dream/ says fake autographs are a problem. “At least one seller was offering an ‘MK autographed photo,’ which was obviously a fake to anyone familiar with MK’s autograph,” Kilburn says. “The seller claimed to have bought the pic in good faith from a dealer and to be selling in good faith. To be fair, he did withdraw it from EBay once he realized it was a fake autograph.”

In an age where knockoff goods can be bought virtually anywhere, is there an underground ring of Knopfler knockoffs? “There is an underground of knockoffs generally,” Kilburn says. “It isn’t a particularly Mark Knopfler-related problem. There are fake autos of many people from Elvis, Clapton, etc., etc.”

Knopfler’s warning doesn’t surprise Jon Garon, an authorized Martin guitar dealer in Excelsior, Minn., who operates myfavoriteguitars.com. “There are people that sell nonexistent guitars on EBay -- it happens all the time.”

Knopfler, who rocketed to fame as the leader of Dire Straits in the 1980s, canceled his Ragpicker’s Dream tour this year after a serious motorcycle accident. He’s recuperating and recently performed with Bill Wyman’s band, Kilburn says. A new album is tentatively scheduled for release next autumn.

-- Michael T. Jarvis