With Valentines Day Coming, CBP Says Check for ‘Fake’ Jewelry

With Valentine's Day coming soon, US Customs and Border Patrol cautions gift-givers to make sure they purchase from reputable sources. If you've already made a purchase, perhaps check it just to be sure.

  CPB says they've seized $27 Million in fake jewelry

According to CBP Officials, they usually ramp up efforts to locate and seize counterfeit jewelry during the Christmas holiday buying period, but also prior to Valentine's Day.

CPB officials say overall, they've intercepted and seized at least 28 shipments that came through the port of Louisville alone in January, that were worth nearly a million dollars.

The equivalent value of these items, if they were legitimate, would be over $27 million. According to CBP officials:

"The shipments were mostly from China and Hong Kong and were heading to locations across the U.S. The shipments contained counterfeit designer watches, bracelets, rings, necklaces, and earrings"

Inspectors said all the items were confiscated for violating the legitimate manufacturer's copyrighted ID's, logos and tags. For example, they found large amounts of fake Rolex watches, and copies of leading-name women's necklaces.

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CPB says to the untrained eye, these can look real, but to any trained or even novice jeweler, the fakes can be easily spotted.

Officials say be especially careful of online specials that appear too good to be true, that's often a sign you're looking at counterfeit items.

Most of the time, counterfeit items these days, wind up online because it's much easier for criminals to sell them to unsuspecting consumers--no in-person contact required.