Holiday Shopping Includes Counterfeits From Amazon, Walmart and eBay

Consumers easily duped by online counterfeit products.

December 27, 2018 - Gift giving included an unexpected surprise this year. While consumers expected honest services, authentic and safe products when they shopped online for holiday gifts, the fact is they may have given or received counterfeit, fake or replica products from Amazon, Walmart and eBay.

Sadly, fraudulent sellers and counterfeit goods are a common consequence for holiday shoppers. One-third of online shoppers received a counterfeit last year, up from 23% in 2016. Additionally, a February 2018 survey reported that 60% of consumers are somewhat concerned about receiving a counterfeit from Amazon, who is facing a counterfeit and credibility crisis.

Consumer concerns are backed by a U.S. Government (GAO) investigation that found that 50% of the items it purchased from e-commerce sources including Amazon (AMZN), eBay (EBAY) and Walmart (WMT) were counterfeit.

The Counterfeit Report, an award winning consumer advocate and industry watchdog, has identified and removed over 180 million online counterfeit items destined for consumers. Don't believe you can't get a fake. E-commerce websites, including Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and of course China's bad boy of counterfeits, Alibaba (BABA), are the perfect platforms to enable and facilitate distribution of hundreds-of-millions of counterfeit goods to unsuspecting consumers.

Counterfeiting is big business, currently a $1.7 trillion global criminal enterprise and e-commerce websites operate with immunity from liability while taking a transaction fee for each fake item sold.

Forbes recently deemed e-commerce platforms, including eBay and Amazon, as "cesspools of counterfeits and other illegal and potentially dangerous goods." Birkenstock, the global footwear icon, slammed Amazon as "an accomplice" of the fraudsters, while Apple found that 90% of Apple products it purchased directly from Amazon were fake.

What should you do if you receive a counterfeit?

1. Always retain the disputed product; it is your only proof of receiving a counterfeit. If returned, sellers will simply deny it is counterfeit and sell it to another unsuspecting consumer.
2. Dispute the purchase and request a refund from the seller or e-commerce website.
3. If a refund is denied; notify your credit card company that you have retained the counterfeit product as evidence and are disputing the charge.

Think you can spot a fake? All the items below were purchased online - they are all counterfeit.

(Photo: The Counterfeit Report®) Vans® does not make iPhone® 6&7 cell phone cases, counterfeit fragrances and cosmetics may contain lead, urine, antifreeze, beryllium, cadmium or other carcinogens. Monster® never made a 'Tron" headphone, and there is no such product as a SanDisk® 64GB microSDHC® memory card. Counterfeit Lego® toys may contain lead, shatter and do not meet U.S. safety standards. The EOtech® rifle sight lacks the correct optics components and the counterfeit Bear Grylls® knife cracked during the photo shoot.

Companies that enable and facilitate criminal activity and profit from dishonest sales which impact consumer safety, jobs and public trust create a public perception of deception with impunity. The consequence is destroyed U.S. companies and retailers, lost U.S. jobs and duped consumers. The value of counterfeit and pirated goods is forecast to grow to $2.8 trillion, and cost 5.4 million net job losses by 2022 states a 2017 International Chamber of Commerce Report. Counterfeiting is now the world's largest criminal enterprise.