TULSA, Okla. — Holiday gifts that seem like a steal may be counterfeit. Customs and Border Protection agents see it every day.
Knockoffs may closely resemble the real thing, but instead of designer goods, consumers get products that are poor quality or unsafe.
Counterfeit products arrive by air and sea. Anything shipped to consumers in the United States must first pass Customs and Border Protection. Its officers review manifests and invoices. If anything appears off the shipment is sent to a centralized exam station.
Shane Smith is a Customs and Border Protection Officer at Port of Baltimore.
“Here we have a bunch of different commodities that come from all across the world," Smith said.
Toys, car parts and counterfeit goods. Officers seized more than 26-thousand shipments of counterfeit products last year valued at over one-point-three billion dollars
“Even though this packaging looks amazing, we still don’t know the ingredients inside," Smith said. “If they’re being produced somewhere where the supply chain isn’t as secure and the ingredients are subpar unknown, it poses a health and safety issue for the average consumer putting it on their lip.”
Real manufacturers provide product guides that help agents catch the knockoffs. Smith says if the counterfeits look good some may wonder what’s the harm in saving a few bucks by buying them instead of the real thing.
“You have to think about the livelihoods of the American people, the employees of these companies, and we have to protect our economy and have consumer confidence in what we’re buying.”
Smith added that sending money to counterfeiters could be funding illegal activities and when fake products cut corners with safety regulations it can cause harm to your health, home, or kids.
“If it’s a choking hazard for a kid that’s an issue then it can be seized or destroyed and not allowed for import.”
CBP also teams up with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to identify hazardous toys and test for different harmful metals and chemicals. He shows us some swing seats flagged for unusually high lead content.
“So, kids could potentially be touching this, swinging on the swing and then touching their binkies or mouths and they could be ingesting harmful substances. We’re talking hundreds and hundreds of swings that could be on different playgrounds.”
So what are the top counterfeit products seized by the CBP?
- Handbags
- Wallets
- Clothes
- Footwear
- Jewelry
- Electronics
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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