Fragments of the meteorite which struck the Russian city of Chelyabinsk on Friday has been found - but fakes are already popping up online.

The rock may have injured hundreds and left a 50-foot crater in a frozen lake, but that hasn't stopped locals from hunting the small pieces of 'space dust' in droves, according to reports.

Small pieces of the meteorite have fetched as much as £6,500 on Russian websites, reported to the Daily Mail.

More than 50 pieces have been brought to a laboratory in Yekaterinburg, while international collectors are said to be snapping up the rest.

But experts have already warned that there may be many fakes among the real artefacts.

READ MORE: UN Holds Summit On Deadly Asteroids

The Guardian spoke to Dr Natalie Starkey, a cosmochemist at the Open University and an expert in meteorites, who said anyone presented with a supposed fragment should look for a 'fusion crust' that looks shiny and smooth on the outside.

Meanwhile the British and Irish Meteorite Society has also issued a warning about fakes.

On its website it writes:

"You are highly advised to take the above precautions when buying on eBay, do your homework and buy from reputable dealers. Meteorite-Identification.com is a good source of information on suspect Ebay auctions. Meteorite Exchange has a page here which summarises eBay listings from known meteorite dealers."

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• Russian Meteorite

  In this photo distributed by the Urals Federal University Press Service pieces of a meteorite are seen in a laboratory in Yekaterinburg on Monday, Feb.18, 2013. Researchers from the Urals Federal University, based in Yekaterinburg, have determined that the small stone-like pieces found near Lake Cherbarkul in the Chelyabinsk region are pieces of the meteorite that exploded over the region Feb. 15. A total of 53 pieces have been brought for analysis to the university in Yekaterinburg. The largest one is one centimeter in diameter, the smallest is about one millimeter. It is written in Cyrillic: Meteorite Chebarkul. (AP Photo/ The Urals Federal University Press Service, Alexander Khlopotov)

• Russian Meteorite

  In this photo distributed by the Urals Federal University Press Service a researcher examines pieces of a meteorite in a laboratory in Yekaterinburg on Monday, Feb.18, 2013. Researchers from the Urals Federal University, based in Yekaterinburg, have determined that the small stone-like pieces found near Lake Cherbarkul in the Chelyabinsk region are pieces of the meteorite that exploded over the region Feb. 15. A total of 53 pieces have been brought for analysis to the university in Yekaterinburg. The largest one is one centimeter in diameter, the smallest is about one millimeter. (AP Photo/ The Urals Federal University Press Service)

• Russian Meteorite

  In this photo distributed by the Urals Federal University Press Service a researcher examines pieces of a meteorite in a laboratory in Yekaterinburg on Monday, Feb.18, 2013. Researchers from the Urals Federal University, based in Yekaterinburg, have determined that the small stone-like pieces found near Lake Cherbarkul in the Chelyabinsk region are pieces of the meteorite that exploded over the region Feb. 15. A total of 53 pieces have been brought for analysis to the university in Yekaterinburg. The largest one is one centimeter in diameter, the smallest is about one millimeter. It is written in Cyrillic: Meteorite Chebarkul. (AP Photo/ The Urals Federal University Press Service, Alexander Khlopotov)

• Russian Meteorite

  In this photo distributed by the Urals Federal University Press Service pieces of a meteorite are seen in a laboratory in Yekaterinburg on Monday, Feb.18, 2013. Researchers from the Urals Federal University, based in Yekaterinburg, have determined that the small stone-like pieces found near Lake Cherbarkul in the Chelyabinsk region are pieces of the meteorite that exploded over the region Feb. 15. A total of 53 pieces have been brought for analysis to the university in Yekaterinburg. The largest one is one centimeter in diameter, the smallest is about one millimeter. It is written in Cyrillic: Meteorite Chebarkul. (AP Photo/ The Urals Federal University Press Service, Alexander Khlopotov)

• Russian Meteorite

  In this photo distributed by the Urals Federal University Press Service pieces of a meteorite are seen in a laboratory in Yekaterinburg on Monday, Feb.18, 2013. Researchers from the Urals Federal University, based in Yekaterinburg, have determined that the small stone-like pieces found near Lake Cherbarkul in the Chelyabinsk region are pieces of the meteorite that exploded over the region Feb. 15. A total of 53 pieces have been brought for analysis to the university in Yekaterinburg. The largest one is one centimeter in diameter, the smallest is about one millimeter. It is written in Cyrillic: Meteorite Chebarkul. (AP Photo/ The Urals Federal University Press Service, Alexander Khlopotov)

• Russian Meteorite

  In this frame grab taken from AP video, a researcher touches a piece of a meteorite in a laboratory in Yekaterinburg on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Researchers from the Urals Federal University, based in Yekaterinburg, have determined that the small stone-like pieces found near Lake Cherbarkul in the Chelyabinsk region are pieces of the meteorite that exploded over the region Feb. 15. A total of 53 pieces have been brought for analysis to the university in Yekaterinburg. The largest one is one centimeter in diameter, the smallest is about one millimeter. (AP Photo/ AP Video)

• Russian Meteorite

  A woman leaves a shop with a broken window in Chelyabinsk, Russia, on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, as part of the local damage after a meteorite exploded over the region on Feb. 15. A total of 53 pieces of space debris have been brought for analysis to the university in Yekaterinburg, with the largest being about one centimeter in diameter, and the smallest is about one millimeter. (AP Photo/Boris Kaulin)

• Russian Meteorite

  In this frame grab made from dashboard camera video, a meteor streaks through the sky over Chelyabinsk, about 1500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. With a blinding flash and a booming shock wave, the meteor blazed across the western Siberian sky Friday and exploded with the force of 20 atomic bombs, injuring more than 1,000 people as it blasted out windows and spread panic in a city of 1 million. (AP Photo/AP Video)

• Russian Meteorite

  A circular hole in the ice of Chebarkul Lake where a meteor reportedly struck the lake near Chelyabinsk, about 1500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. A meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over Russia’s Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic bomb Friday, its sonic blasts shattering countless windows and injuring nearly 1,000 people. (AP Photo)

• Russian Meteorite

  In this photo provided by Chelyabinsk.ru a meteorite contrail is seen over Chelyabinsk on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. A meteor streaked across the sky of Russia’s Ural Mountains on Friday morning, causing sharp explosions and reportedly injuring around 100 people, including many hurt by broken glass. (AP Photo/Chelyabinsk.ru)

• Russian Meteorite

  In this frame grab made from a video done with a dashboard camera a meteor streaks through the sky over Chelyabinsk, about 1500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. A meteor that scientists estimate weighed 10 tons (11 tons) streaked at supersonic speed over Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday, setting off blasts that injured some 500 people and frightened countless more. (AP Photo/AP Video)

• Russian Meteorite

  RETRANSMITTING FOR IMPROVE QUALITY In this photo provided by E1.ru a meteorite contrail is seen over a vilage of Bolshoe Sidelnikovo 50 km of Chelyabinsk on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. A meteor streaked across the sky of Russia’s Ural Mountains on Friday morning, causing sharp explosions and reportedly injuring around 100 people, including many hurt by broken glass. (AP Photo/ Nadezhda Luchinina, E1.ru)

• Russian Meteorite

  In this frame grab made from a video done with a dashboard camera, on a highway from Kostanai, Kazakhstan, to Chelyabinsk region, Russia, provided by Nasha Gazeta newspaper, on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 a meteorite contrail is seen. A meteor streaked across the sky of Russia’s Ural Mountains on Friday morning, causing sharp explosions and reportedly injuring around 100 people, including many hurt by broken glass. (AP Photo/Nasha gazeta, www.ng.kz)