Just as the holiday season kicks off, federal authorities were working to protect Southern Californians from getting scammed by counterfeit merchandise.
Friday morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and Homeland Security investigators raided a clothing store in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles. Authorities hauled-off several boxes of suspected counterfeit goods along with computers from the business.
The owner of the store had no comment for NBC4 about the raid, but Jere Miles with Homeland Security says operations like this guard Americans from buying items which, "could be putting someone at risk. It could be a substandard item."
Last year, federal inspectors seized more than $1.25 billion worth of fake products, but it's not all phony purses, watches and shoes. Elva Muneton with U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed NBC4 a counterfeit iPhone which, she says, can be quite dangerous.
"Unfortunately the quality of it is very poor, and it could actually stop working very quickly. But at worst, it could give you a shock, because the internal system isn't what it's supposed to be," Muneton said.
Many consumers buy the phony merchandise innocently, authorities say, because they're just looking for a deal online.
"I believe the lesson is that you have to be careful when you're making these purchases online," Miles said.
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That's why he and other experts advise considering which websites you choose for holiday shopping.
Homeland Security investigators urge you to contact them if you believe you've received a counterfeit product at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or here.
