Press Release

Violent Police Impersonators Highlight Dangers Of eBay & Amazon Fake Badges & ID

Websites turn a blind eye to dangerous counterfeits.

June 26, 2018, Los Angeles, CA – Police impersonators are a very real and frightening scenario for the public and the police. And, it's easy -- Amazon and eBay sell fake FBI and police badges, ID's, patches and gear. Headlines like the ones below are common;

June 22, 2018, Ventura, CA - Farad Gharagozlou Bell pleaded guilty to impersonating a federal officer, wearing a fake ICE badge, during a violent encounter with a teenager. Bell ordered the teen from his car, searched him and took the teen's cell phone.
March 6, 2018 - Greg Baghoomian walked into the Los Angeles County Jail Inmate Reception Center in March 2018 and flashed FBI credentials to on-duty deputies. He fled when challenged, but was captured with a large fixed blade knife, two Taser devices, handcuffs, gloves and false FBI credentials.
March 6, 2018, Victorville, CA - An armed, sheriff uniformed 14-year-old boy, driving an emergency light equipped SUV was arrested and accused of posing as a sheriff's deputy to conduct traffic enforcement stops and confront residents in Victorville, CA.
March 6, 2018 - NYPD wants the public's help in finding fake cops. A man wearing a gold police shield tied his victim with zip-ties and robbed him. In another incident, two men robbed a man at gunpoint after stating “Police" and pulling out a shield and a pistol.

The Counterfeit Report found over 8,600 fake law enforcement badges and ID's on eBay and Amazon and sent hundreds of email reports, press releases and warnings to eBay and Amazon staffers, including eBay CEO, Devin Wenig, eBay General Counsel, Marie Oh Huber, eBay Global Intellectual Property Brand Manager, Julien Dudouit, and Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos. The press releases were viewed over 400 times, yet the e-commerce execs did not respond, and the fake badges remain. eBay and Amazon continue to be the “one stop” shopping market for anyone around the world to buy fake law enforcement badges and ID. See the fake badges listed on eBay and Amazon here.

18,000 U.S. federal, state and local law enforcement agencies employ 1.1 million men and women who rely on easily recognizable identification to secure public trust and reassure confidence. The consequences or misuse of counterfeits is indisputable. Still, counterfeit law enforcement badges and identification cards are all too easy to find on eBay and Amazon. eBay even goes to the alarming extreme of sending email solicitations encouraging buyers to purchase counterfeit police items.

The Counterfeit Report received the fake made-to-order FBI & LAPD ID cards below from eBay sellers bearing the names and photos of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris and former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Badges were also purchased on eBay to accompany the phony identification and each was sent the fake items, yet neither chose to act. The items are just as easily available to terrorists, child predators and other criminals, with the buyers chosen identity and photo. Ironically, an aide to Kamala Harris, Brandon Kiel, was arrested in 2015 for impersonating a police officer.

Are you talking to the real police, how would you know? The counterfeit current issue FBI, LAPD, Secret Service, and other law enforcement badges and ID shown below are from eBay and Amazon listings. The Counterfeit Report purchased dozens, many from the same sellers;

image - eBay and Amazon counterfeit badges

Public trust is destroyed when companies don't align themselves with ethical behavior and diligence, and put profit before protecting the public, children and national security. Despite the law, website policies, ethics and even common sense, the items remain.

Who will cleanup Amazon and eBay's cesspool of counterfeits?

*Editor's Note:
eBay and Amazon claim they have strict policies that prohibit counterfeits, fakes and replicas on their websites. The truth is that counterfeits and replicas can be, and are, easily listed and sold. The Counterfeit Report, helped right holders remove over 2 million counterfeit products from eBay and Amazon.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") issued a report in March after their undercover investigation of e-commerce counterfeit goods sales, including Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), concluding in part that "counterfeit goods harm the U.S. economy and can pose a threat to consumers." Will they take action?

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