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NEWS ABOUT: counterfeit

Guy Pays Walmart Tab With $1M Bill

Store employees weren't buying it

(Newser) - He definitely wanted to keep the change: Cops have charged a North Carolina man after he attempted to pay a $476 Walmart tab ... with a $1 million bill. Seems that 53-year-old Michael Fuller bought a vacuum, microwave, among other items, and forked over the bill when it came time to... More »

Feds Grab 150 Websites in Counterfeit Case

Online sellers 'lured in holiday shoppers': official

(Newser) - Buyers of online counterfeit goods may find their favorite websites are under federal lock-down, NPR reports. Authorities have impounded the domain names of 150 websites suspected of selling pirated or counterfeit items, they said today. That includes sellers of DVD sets, golf equipment, and professional sports jerseys. "For most,... More »

Knock-Off Bags May Boost Sales of Real Thing

Counterfeit items seem to have an unexpected effect

(Newser) - A New York City councilwoman is trying to make it illegal to own a knock-off designer bag in her district of Chinatown, on the grounds that it hurts business for the real designer. Not so fast, writes Ray Fisman at Slate . Counterfeits may actually help those businesses by essentially acting... More »

'Shoeless' Joe Jackson Hall of Fame Jersey a Fake

One of a handful of fake items in huge collection

(Newser) - For 10 years, the Baseball Hall of Fame displayed a jersey supposedly worn by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson during the 1919 World Series—which he and his teammates infamously threw. Turns out the jersey, just like the Series, is a fake. It was pulled from display in 2008, and a... More »

Buyers Scammed for Millions in Record EBay Ripoff

Customers paid big bucks for counterfeit products

(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 »

Peru Flooding US With Counterfeit Bills

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

(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 »

$134B Bond Fraud May Be Mob Handiwork

US, Italian authorities blame organized crime for huge counterfeiting

(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 »

Boy George Replaces Queen on Fake Bills

British shop workers fooled by his-head-for-hers forgery

(Newser) - Boy George made a convincing stand-in for the Queen on a counterfeit note found in Britain this week, the Daily Telegraph reports. The £20 note was passed at a stationary shop and the staff didn't realize it was a fake until a bank worker checked the anti-forgery watermark and... More »

Exploding Cell Phone Kills Man

Chinese cops suspect counterfeit battery may have caused phone to blow up

(Newser) - A man in Guangzhou, China, was killed last week when his cell phone blew up and severed an artery in his neck, the Times of London reports. The young shop clerk is believed to have put the phone in his breast pocket straight after charging a new battery before it... More »

Feds: Today's Counterfeiters Are Poor Copies

Ink-jet amateurs replace skilled crooks who once fooled experts

(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 »

Tobacco Crackdown Aims to Douse Smuggling Efforts

Making supply chain more transparent among goals of international talks

(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 »

Printers Let Big Brother Connect Privacy Dots

Watchdogs worry about anti-counterfeit marks left by laser models

(Newser) - The growing popularity of laser printers has privacy watchdogs worried, USA Today reports. Many such printers have a feature, designed to foil currency counterfeiters, that puts a signature of microscopic dots on each page. In the US, only the Secret Service can decode the information, but there are concerns the... More »

EBay Wins Pivotal Tiffany Counterfeit Suit

Tiffany's must police their own mark, decides federal court

(Newser) - A US judge ruled today that eBay had taken sufficient steps to stop the sale of fake Tiffany jewelry, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ruling on a suit filed by the New York-based jeweler, the judge deemed Tiffany responsible for monitoring its trademark. It was a pivotal victory for eBay,... More »

Luxe Knockoffs Cost eBay $63M

French court favors Louis Vuitton; auction giant may boost anti- counterfeit measures

(Newser) - A French court sided today with couturier Louis Vuitton in a suit against eBay, ruling the auctioneer must pay $63.1 million in damages for fake goods sold on its site—a ruling the Wall Street Journal says will force eBay to step up anti-counterfeiting protections. EBay says it will... More »

Tiffany Presses eBay to Police Forgeries

Showdown may force online auctioneer to monitor—at a big cost

(Newser) - A legal battle between Tiffany & Co and eBay could change the face of online auctioneering forever, the Wall Street Journal reports. The jeweler says eBay should be responsible for checking its millions of listings for counterfeit goods, while eBay maintains that it's up to the trademark holder to flag... More »

New $5 Bill Debuts Today

Abe gets a colorful makeover on copy-resistant bills

(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 »

Feds Give Abe's 5-Spot a Facelift

New currency includes pastels and redesigned watermarks to thwart couterfeiters

(Newser) - When you pull out a $5 bill next spring, you'll still see Honest Abe—but you'll also see a bunch of purple and gray, some big number fives, and new watermarks and security threads. Sick of pesky counterfeiters bleaching the fiver and turning it into a C-note, the feds unveiled... More »

The C-Note Gets a Facelift

New security thread aims to protect bill most targeted by foreign counterfeiters

(Newser) - Even Ben Franklin has a little work done every now and then. The $100 bill, which bears the founding father's image, is undergoing a state-of-the-art redesign aimed at thwarting counterfeiters who target the C-note more than any other denomination, the AP reports. The new security thread utilizes microprinting and 650,... More »

Colgate Cautions Against Fake Toothpaste

Counterfeit dentifrice may contain toxic chemical, company says

(Newser) - Colgate alerted the public today that counterfeit toothpaste bearing its brand name and possibly containing a deadly chemical has turned up in discount stores in four Northeast states. The phony products' packaging is riddled with misspellings and gives the manufacturing location as South Africa, where the company doesn't make toothpaste.... More »

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