Flourishing counterfeit shipments
As the NFL 2020/2021 season heats up, fraud activities are also on the increase. Over the first week of December, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Cincinnati seized 200 counterfeit jerseys determined to have several athletes’ autographs that were unapproved and inauthentic.
Had the clothing been real, their cumulative value would have been USD 42,625. All of the clothing originated in the Philippines and were destined for a warehouse in Nashville, TN.
In FY 2020, CBP seized 26,503 shipments of counterfeit goods worth nearly USD 1.3 billion had the goods been genuine. Most of these seizures were of apparel and accessories, but since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, CBP has also seized more than 13.5 million counterfeit face masks and more than 177,000 unapproved Covid-19 test kits. (ah)