U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are alerting holiday shoppers to be on alert after more than 13,000 counterfeit designer products were seized from a cargo shipment from China.
CBP officers assigned to the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport and other personnel intercepted a total of 13,586 counterfeit products, including fake designer bags and clothing items bearing logos resembling that of Gucci, Chanel, Fendi, YSL, and Louis Vuitton. shipment was seized on Nov. 9.
seized merchandise, if genuine, would have a combined manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $30,437,775, according to the federal agency.
Counterfeit products are now being posted on “seemingly legitimate listings on well-known websites,” the CBP announced.
“Bad actors exploit e-commerce operations by selling counterfeit and unsafe goods through online platforms, particularly during the holiday season when shoppers are looking for deals,” Donald R. Kusser, port director of the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport, said in a statement.
“If the price of the product seems too good to be true, it probably is. Counterfeit goods are often of poor quality and can even be unsafe for you and your family.”
agency advises the following steps for holiday shoppers to prevent unwitting purchases of counterfeit items:
- Purchase goods directly from the trademark holder or from authorized retailers.
- When shopping online, read seller reviews and check for a working U.S. phone number and address that can be used to contact the seller.
- Review CBP’s E-Commerce Counterfeit Awareness Guide for Consumers.
- Remember that if the price of a product seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Counterfeit products are often of inferior quality, and signs that suggest the product is fake include poor or uneven stitching, fragile fabrics, improperly sized or designed logos, peeling labels, low-quality ink, or printing errors on the packaging.
“Trade in counterfeit and pirated goods threatens America’s innovation economy, the competitiveness of businesses, and, in some cases, national security, and the health and safety of consumers,” according to the CBP.
In fiscal year 2020, CBP officials across the United States seized 26,503 shipments that contained counterfeit goods that would be estimated to be worth almost $1.3 billion if they were genuine.
In the same year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) officials arrested 203 individuals, obtained 125 indictments, and received 98 convictions related to intellectual property crimes.
China “remained the primary source economy for counterfeit and pirated goods seized,” according to the CBP. China accounted for a total estimated MSRP value of over $660 million or about 50.5 percent of all seizures that violated Intellectual Property Rights in fiscal year 2020 (pdf) in the United States.
Pezou : Over 13,000 Fake Designer Products From China Seized, Holiday Shoppers Told to Beware