I don’t know what the percentages are, but yes, the number of fake cubans in America is really high. Most of them are in the hands of people who don’t smoke regularly or enthusiastically enough to join cigar forums and educate themselves sufficiently. Every gift of cuban cigars that non-smoking friends have brought back for me, with a single exception, have been fakes. Yes, the important rules of sticking to trusted sources and if possible, verifying with the authentication process, are...important.
The 9 out of 10 in a box situation put forth is, of course, silly. Either all in it are fake, or none, generally. If you spot a single fake at a location, but some other boxes look legit...they’re not, they’re just more convincing fakes. All of this has been covered in this forum, so I’m not sure the motivation for the rehash.
As far as knowing one’s sources...@CigSid is a source of knowledge and cigars nonpareil. He’s proven his knowledge and trustworthiness over many years of membership, friendship, and I know I recently turned to him for advice that he didn’t have to give me and didn’t ask anything for. So when he makes a statement like that, you’d best believe that it’s pretty darned accurate.
When it comes to knowing the source of the OP, what does one reckon the trustworthiness is? What is the legacy of that source going to be?
Edit: Typo