News

$700,000 in feces-infected counterfeit cosmetics seized by Los Angeles police
Kim Kardashian West said it best: “SO GROSS!” That’s what the reality TV star Tweeted Friday after Los Angeles police announced they had seized $700,000 in counterfeit cosmetics in a raid, including makeup that tested positive for high levels of bacteria and human...

Who Will Cleanup eBay’s Sleazy Counterfeit Marketplace?
Los Angeles, CA – eBay is under fire for some shady practices - enabling and facilitating the sale of an inexhaustible supply of counterfeit goods, while hiding behind illusory counterfeit policies1 and ineffective website policing. A U.S. Government Accountability...

Is Your Walmart Purchase A Counterfeit?
Los Angeles, CA – Simply stated, Walmart sells counterfeit products. Consumers can no longer expect honest services, authentic, and safe products when they shop Walmart. One-third of online shoppers received an unexpected surprise last year - they unwillingly received...

Is Your Amazon Purchase A Counterfeit?
One-third of online shoppers received an unexpected surprise last year— they unwillingly received a counterfeit product. An undercover investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") of counterfeit consumer goods on Amazon, eBay, Sears, Walmart,...

Woman fined for selling make-up with lead in it
Magistrates were told that all makeup has to undergo stringent safety tests and each product must have a technical file to ensure that it complies with current safety legislation. Makeup is not permitted to contain any lead. Counterfeit makeup of this nature will not...

Federal Investigators Confirm Amazon’s Counterfeit Marketplace
Los Angeles, CA – Shady Amazon counterfeit practices have not escaped the attention of federal investigators. The U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") issued a report last week after their undercover investigation of e-commerce counterfeit goods sales,...

Federal Investigators Target eBay’s Counterfeit Marketplace
Los Angeles, CA – eBay has a credibility problem. eBay is under fire for some shady practices - enabling and facilitating U.S. and cross-border scam artists to freely unload of an inexhaustible supply of counterfeit goods, mostly from China, on unsuspecting consumers....

Popular goods sold through Amazon, Walmart and others are counterfeits: Government report
Federal investigators purchased counterfeit popular products, including cosmetics and electronics, on some of the biggest and best-known e-commerce websites, according to a new report. The findings highlight new challenges for U.S. agencies and businesses in...

Is Your Makeup the Real Deal? A Guide to Spotting Counterfeit Beauty Products
The counterfeit market isn't limited to just handbags and designer clothing anymore—much to our dismay, knockoff makeup and fragrance sales have been on the rise. Though websites like eBay and Amazon do their best to regulate the sales of fake products, counterfeits...

Officials seize $31 million in fake perfume at Long Beach, LA port complex
People counting on buying last-minute perfume for their sweetheart today for Valentine’s Day may want to look in department stores instead of road stops after Los Angeles border patrol agents announced the seizure of more than $31 million worth of fake perfume. U.S....

Sales loss from counterfeit cosmetic and personal care goods in the European Union in 2015, by industry (in million euros)
This statistic shows the overall sales losses from counterfeit cosmetic and care goods in the European Union by industry type. Thecosmetic and personal care wholesale trade is losing the most money with 1.9 billion euros. Read the rest of the story

Your safety matters to us: Counterfeiting
Product counterfeiting is an Intellectual Property (IP) crime. It is defined as a deliberate attempt to deceive consumers by copying and marketing goods bearing well-known trade marks, together with packaging and product appearance. Product counterfeits look like...

The Alarming Dangers of Counterfeit Cosmetics
With the holiday season wrapping up, January is marked with long return lines and refund requests both online and in-store. Many unwanted gifts or ones of incorrect size or kind are sent back to vendors, but what do you do when you’ve been injured by a product? Such...

Christmas crackdown on ‘100 traders selling fake goods’
A number of campaigns have warned the public about buying "bargain" gifts. Mr Mogg, who chairs the National Markets Group and is based in Caerphilly, said Wales was "at the forefront" of Operation Jasper last year. The initiative tackles the sale of counterfeit...

12 arrested as Hong Kong customs bust syndicate selling fake Korean cosmetics
Customs officers say they have smashed a syndicate supplying bogus cosmetic and skincare goods in Hong Kong following the arrest of 12 people and seizure of more than 5,200 counterfeit products. The fakes – mostly Korean make-up and skincare products – with an...

13 Terrifying Dangers Of Counterfeit Makeup
There are a lot of cheap knockoff products that come out of China. Some of them are kind of fun, like knockoffs of expensive purses that you could not otherwise afford on your salary and fake watches that look almost like the real thing. When it comes to products that...

How counterfeit makeup could be a health hazard
CBS This Morning U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a record number of counterfeit goods last year, worth nearly $1.4 billion. One of their top priorities is spotting fake toiletries that can he hazardous to your health. Jamie Yuccas went undercover to see how...

Forget dodgy counterfeit makeup – here are six bargain versions of the originals
Revenue has seized what is described as “significant quantities” of counterfeit beauty products recently. But far from being simply a customs or tax-related issue, there are significant health concerns associated with counterfeit beauty. Popular counterfeited beauty...

Arsenic and lead found in counterfeit make-up products
The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) and the HSE have issued a warning to consumers over buying beauty products from “rogue sellers”, due to safety concerns over the counterfeit products. The HSE recently carried out tests on 728 fake or imitation brand...

Fake makeup: The toxic truth you need to know this Christmas
Bargain-hunters beware: the cheap designer makeup you are buying this Christmas could be toxic. Shoppers - increasingly fuelled by the desire to emulate their Instagram idols - are buying fake versions of the most popular makeup brands at a fraction of the price. But...