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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: counterfeiters

counterfeiters stories: 12 news summaries

 Buyers Scammed 
 for Millions in 
 Record EBay 
 Ripoff 

Customers paid big bucks for counterfeit products

Sep 23, 09 3:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Consumers around the world were bilked out of millions of dollars for counterfeit golf clubs in the biggest-ever eBay scam, reports the Times of London. The clubs, as well as clothing, accessories and passes for an airline lounge, were auctioned online from 2004-2008 by a criminal network involving crooks from... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • Internet • eBay • Europe • Hong Kong • counterfeit • scam • counterfeiters • Augusta National Golf Club • criminal network

 Peru Flooding US 
 With Counterfeit Bills 

About $8 million in fake greenbacks found in U.S., another $18 million in Peru

Sep 13, 09 4:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - American officials have seized some $8 million in high-quality counterfeit US bills made in Peru, reports the Los Angeles Times. South American raids have uncovered another $18 million. The massive number of fake bills costs businesses and individuals millions, and threatens to undermine confidence in US currency, warn officials. "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
counterfeit • Peru • counterfeiters

$134B Bond Fraud May Be Mob Handiwork

US, Italian authorities blame organized crime for huge counterfeiting

Jun 19, 09 8:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - The counterfeit bonds with a face value of $134 billion seized near the Swiss border are probably the work of the Mafia, say Italian and American secret services. The mystery surrounding the suitcase stuffed with fake US Treasury bonds deepened yesterday, after a blog revealed that police had released the... More »

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Italy • Switzerland • counterfeit • debt • Mafia • bonds • Sicilian mafia • counterfeiters • Treasury bills

$134B in Bonds Seized in Italy 'Clearly Fake'

US debt office tells conspiracy theorists
to calm down

Jun 18, 09 8:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Conspiracy theorists, take note: The US bonds seized near the Swiss border with a face value of $134 billion "are clearly fakes," a Washington spokesman tells Bloomberg. Most securities are now issued electronically, only about $105 billion in bonds have yet to be surrendered, and the "Kennedy... More »

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Italy • Switzerland • debt • bonds • counterfeiters • smuggling • Treasury note

OPINION

$134B Suitcase Could Be Huge Smuggling Scam

Italy arrests men with enough US bonds to buy a few countries

Jun 17, 09 8:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Last week, Italian authorities detained two Japanese men attempting to cross the border into Switzerland carrying a suitcase stuffed with $134 billion in US bonds. The men are either massive counterfeiters or—even scarier—the fourth-largest creditors of the US Treasury, with enough cash to buy three or four countries.... More »

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Ben Bernanke • Italy • Switzerland • debt • bonds • US dollar • counterfeiters • Treasury bills • Timothy Geithner • smuggling • Treasury note

Chinese Court Sentences Microsoft Pirates

11 jailed for counterfeit software ring with 'unprecedented' scope

Dec 31, 08 9:59 AM CST
(Newser) - A Chinese court has convicted 11 people of violating copyright laws and sentenced them to as much as 6 1/2  years of prison for working with a counterfeiting ring that sold fake Microsoft products around the world. Microsoft hailed the crackdown on the pirates, whose organization may have made $2... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • Microsoft • copyright law • intellectual property • piracy • software • counterfeiters • precedent

Feds: Today's Counterfeiters Are Poor Copies

Ink-jet amateurs replace skilled crooks who once fooled experts

Dec 27, 08 8:29 AM CST
(Newser) - Secret Service agents are waxing nostalgic for counterfeiters of old, the Kansas City Star reports. The printers who once produced 20s, 50s, and 100s good enough to fool experts have been replaced by home office crooks who reproduce small bills on ink-jet printers. "It’s a lost art,"... More »

MORE ABOUT:
currency • Secret Service • counterfeit • money • US currency • counterfeiters • forgery

Tobacco Crackdown Aims to Douse Smuggling Efforts

Making supply chain more transparent among goals of international talks

Oct 29, 08 3:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Negotiators from over 150 countries are working with the World Health Organization to shape a proposal intended to combat the global trade in illegal cigarettes, Portfolio reports. Anti-tobacco advocates say current measures are insufficient to stem the illicit production or smuggling that accounts for 11% of worldwide tobacco sales, and... More »

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cigarettes • tobacco • counterfeit • smuggler • World Health Organization • cigarette • counterfeiters • bar codes

GLOSSIES

Watchmaker's Anti-Fakery Technique Is So Money

Vacheron Constantin uses methods used to foil counterfeiters on new $50K line

Oct 24, 08 6:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Swiss watchmaker has broken new ground in the effort to fight fakery, Portfolio reports, using techniques designed to foil currency counterfeiters on a new line of timepieces that run to $50,000. Vacheron Constantin uses laser engraving on tiny components, and coats dials with transparent film printed with tiny... More »

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design • watches • high-tech security • counterfeiters • Vacheron Constantin

 Denim Detective
 Unzips Fake
 Jeans Biz

Designers hire PI's to protect their bottom lines

Sep 6, 08 5:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Chris Johnson likes collecting women's jeans, but he doesn't wear them—he's one of hundreds of fashion detectives hired by designers to spot knockoffs, the Los Angeles Times reports. Johnson trolls stores and Internet sites for clients like True Religion who want to put counterfeiters out of business. The fakes... More »

MORE ABOUT:
business • knockoff • private investigator • jeans • counterfeiters • apparel

 DVD Dogs Sniff Out Pirates 

MPAA enlists canine crimefighters for battle against counterfeiters

Jul 12, 08 8:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two dogs trained to sniff out counterfeit DVDs are so good at their jobs that infuriated pirates have put a bounty on their heads, Wired reports. The dogs—Labrador retrievers who were taught to detect the scent of polycarbonate—have helped locate millions of fake discs hidden in warehouses and... More »

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Motion Picture Association of America • DVD piracy • DVD • canine units • dog • counterfeiters

 New $5 Bill Debuts Today 

Abe gets a colorful makeover on copy-resistant bills

Mar 13, 08 11:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Honest Abe may've been a bit pasty and gaunt, but the public can now see him in a more vivid hue: The redesigned $5 bill, complete with splashes of purple designed to thwart pesky counterfeiters, is being released today. Lincoln keeps his place on the front, and his memorial on... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Federal Reserve • counterfeit • Abraham Lincoln • US dollar • US currency • watermark • US Mint • $5 bill • five dollar bill • Honest Abe • counterfeiters

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