Counterfeit crackdown: Testing Walmart, Amazon, eBay, AliExpress and Wish (Marketplace)

okay shopping cruise hop online okay we're putting five big companies to the test Amazon Walmart eBay wish and Aliexpress I've got Toronto Blue Jays 2017 MLB baseball jersey 15999 I got something on wish Michael Kors 171 Canadian to find out if we're buying real or getting ripped off with a fake everything from sportswear my cat Jordan clutch 85 us to health and beauty products in the picture it says naked 2 in the description it says naked 5 which doesn't exist even electronics Apple earpods on Amazon for two hundred and forty five dollars it can be tough to tell with some listings looking pretty legit it says in big red letters we don't sell any fakes we buy dozens of different products while we wait for them to arrive we're on our way to meet up with one Amazon customer who says he got conned when looking for a new sound machine we're expecting our third and we thought well let's get a couple more sound machines one for each of the kids rooms Doug folks shops online all the time for his kids he thinks he's getting a good deal but this time ends up with a debt when you received the products what made you question whether they were legit well I cuz I've plugged him in to test them out right to make sure if he was running fine and when I put him in I noticed that they see the weaker these didn't have the um of the other one Doug does some digging calls up the manufacturer to find out what's up with this sound machine so I sent a picture and it happened to have the model number on it and they said to me the district counterfeit it's always shocked and so the next day I actually contacted Amazon and said hey what gives Amazon apologizes promising it'll never happen again they even direct him to a page they say is legit so I went ahead an order them a couple days later they arrived and of course I plug him in and I check the back of the serial numbers they are counterfeit and I'm almost certain they're the exact same three that I had just shipped back Amazon apologizes again and says they'll investigate what do you think about that shot my other people just happened to good question our products are here turns out some are legit others confirm counterfeit but there's a whole bunch we don't know about because some official manufacturers won't work with us welcome to the first ever marketplace fashion show cave so we're bringing in some industry pros to get their expert opinion let's welcome our counterfeit product specialist in true fashion show style David Lipkis is a lawyer and counterfeit products expert with over a decade of experience let's give it up for David Mike yes Jeff ski is a private investigator who has done investigations in nearly 60 countries she specializes in finding and taking down counterfeit products both online and in stores Lori how big a problem is counterfeiting in North America this problem is in the hundreds of billions of dollars in North America how big a deal is it to track them down well it's getting more difficult counterfeiters are becoming more sophisticated they understand that the odds of getting caught are low the penalties when they are caught are almost non-existent ultimately when you buy counterfeiting you are supporting organized crime you're supporting terrorism you're supporting human trafficking drug trafficking all of that money is used illegitimate Lee with so much at stake we want to know if we've bought any fakes please welcome our marketplace models onto the stage first up versus they're pretty popular in the counterfeit world alright let's start with whis come on up we want to know if we luck out or lose out with this Michael Kors handbag one great place to look on handbags is the actual strap because often times there'll be some poor this is a finishing piece versus the main piece so the counterfeit or may not put as much care into the strap and how does that strap look I don't like it while the judges take a closer look what are these online shoppers thing tell me which ones you think if are real and which ones you think are fake so I think just looking at these purses what are your thoughts missing that really stands out for me right now okay would be the only one that would be though at this point her pet Walmart is she right time to find out audience it is your time cheer if you think this purse is real clap if you think this could be a fake there's the answer from the audience time to vote judges suspected fake there you go now we're gonna go with Amazon initial thoughts on this first judges oh if we take a look at it one of the things that you often want to look at is how the emblem is placed on the additional pieces to the main body of the item can oftentimes be a sign of a counterfeit Aliexpress come on up there was obviously glaring differences really and piping stitching labeling fabric materials all those things that are visually perceptive in fact our experts suspect all the purses we buy from all five retailers are fake all of these purses are believed to be counterfeit okay Wow what do you think I mean that's crazy yeah see you can't trust anything online nowadays that really disappoints me you know back at our fashion show time to take a look at some Raptors jerseys [Applause] [Music] thank you please Aliexpress you can see some of the close-ups can take a look at the tag look at the inside of these jerseys while our experts get a closer look we asked the audience for their vote cheer if you think this Jersey is real so what's the word from our judges now I happen to be a huge Raptors fan and so I've actually never seen a Jersey where there's red dots along the white lettering and numbering for Lowry so that's a bizarre indicator that I think would be really important for Nike to look at when they're assessing whether this is a fake or not that's sort of an absence of really any Nike labeling on the inside of the product which is also an interesting indicator as for Amazon take a look you've got tags on this product yet if you look at the number seven you'll notice that it's actually bubbling over and that might be an indicator a red flag to the brand that maybe this deal was too good to be true I don't think I saw hologram on either of those tags or products both jerseys we buy from Amazon and Aliexpress suspected fate moving on to cookware so this is our next product it is the toufoul kitchenware set 10 piece judges come on up talk us through what you're seeing the judges are quick to spot some red flags first thing would be the difference in color on the boxes right away they're different shades of red maroon whatever you want to call it we also noticed when we opened the boxes to inside there is a code on two of the boxes and there isn't on the third and then the last inconsistency that you can see right away is take a look over here where it says dishwasher safe they're spaced a little bit differently on these boxes and I'm not sure why that's the case many differences so what do they all mean in my world when I see inconsistency it usually means that you're erring on the side of counterfeit and so for that reason I believe that something is fishy here it's time to up the ante our experts tell us buying counterfeits could pose health and safety risks especially when it comes to makeup there we go let's start with wish like this Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palette audience makes sure to take a look at these screens remember our judges are looking for the finer details to point out any red flags cheer if you think that this eyeshadow palette is real clap if you think they're fake it's time for your vote also second phase Aliexpress there's an immediate red flag which should be brought to everyone's attention the half-baked is actually hail baked and that just can't be right it's also missing its serial number identifier which we've seen on some of the other packaging turns out our judges believe the eye shadow we buy from every retailer could be counterfeit finally we've got Kylie Jenner lip products our judges think all of them are suspect here's why the first thing to note is that Kylie cosmetics products can only be purchased through authorized retailers and so the reality is if you're buying from a third party seller or buying from a third party marketplace that is an immediate red flag that you should be aware of okay aliens breath David well this packaging actually has a lot of red flags it would be brought to Kylie cosmetics attention and Kylie is actually spelled wrong it says Kylie lip kits by Kylie KY il e and cosmetics is spelled wrong too time to vote sis back to fake all across the board Walmart come on up she's different than all of the other tubes if those are trying to imitate or replicate the legitimate product this one didn't do as good of a job it's time to vote could these counterfeit Cosmetics be dangerous too to find out we send our health and beauty products to a lab testing for toxic ingredients like mercury and let walk me through what you're seeing here toxicologists Ryan Prosser gives us the lowdown on our results starting with this lipstick from Aliexpress confirmed counterfeit by Mac yeah the lead and the chromium concentrations are quite high lead shouldn't really be above ten and what do you see there it's reading 7510 so it's seven hundred and fifty one times higher than what should be in cosmetics yep you heard right the lead in this lipstick is 750 one times Health Canada's recommended limit what could happen to someone who has high levels of lead exposure it's gonna start to have an adverse effect on your nervous system which is then gonna eventually if you're overexposed could have an impact on your cognitive ability doesn't sound pretty another shocker the mercury in the Kylie Jenner lip products we buy from aliexpress the mercury concentration is about double what would be allowable in cosmetics in Canada the fact that it's being applied to the lips and that likely percentage of that is being ingested that's a definite pathway of exposure that would be concerned about the takeaway from the data you have here is be careful where you buy it from retail Aliexpress about our lab test results they tell us they're taking action the shops that sold us the toxic makeup were closed and the sellers banned from the Aliexpress platform meantime we share our results with our shoppers okay what runs through your mind when you hear that I think probably just going to the real store and buy the products from the actual store rather than online it's scary it's scary yeah this is your marketplace we're investigating the real cost of counterfeits testing five popular retailers buying dozens of products and revealing which ones could be fake and be putting your health at risk we know most counterfeit products come from overseas so we ask Canada's Border Services Agency to let us see what they're doing to stop the sale of counterfeit but they say no so we're heading across the border to Buffalo New York to get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how the u.s. is cracking down it's 4:00 a.m. this is when all the action takes place what are we seeing here right now they're lining up boxes to start searching them with the k-9 and then the targeted shipments will be open and obviously if the dog gets any of the shipment still we'll check those as well this is supervisory customs Border Patrol officer aeryn bell-curve along with other officers he's inspecting each package coming through to ensure fakes are found so this package seems to be clear yes right no fakes this time this is a behind-the-scenes look that people don't get it has a lot of work that goes into this not only to protected communities in the country but also the industry and protecting companies and they're another trademark good he says cracking down on counterfeits is a big priority for the u.s. why is it so important for the u.s. to detect and seize these counterfeit goods well not only protecting the companies that make them but also you have to consider where the money's going back to it's going to to fund external organizations whether it's a terrorist organization whether it's a criminal enterprise its funding something that's illegal when you follow the money it gets really scary that's what we're trying to stop he shows us just some of the products they've seized we have some counterfeit purses you can tell even just by holding them that the material itself doesn't feel very good this logo is starting to fall off if the sports jerseys so look at the printing and how the stitching goes in between the letters I'm it's continuous instead of it being each letter you know there isn't even hologram logos on the tags look similar to some of the stuff we bought this is just a small sample of what we get it's wild marketplace cracking down on counterfeits revealing big names online could be selling you fakes from jerseys and Jordans to mugs and makeup it's not some person sitting in their basement making an extra fifty sixty thousand dollars a year this is a billion dollar industry in just one year US Customs and Border Protection seized over thirty three thousand counterfeit shipments in Canada through an access to information request we find out it's just sixty-nined attainments and that's over a three year period fakes aren't just sold online old-school markets are thriving - so our Canadian authorities doing a better job cracking down in stores recording yep we're wiring up to find out going inside Pacific Mall north of Toronto two hundred seventy thousand square feet more than four hundred shops a popular shopping center known for selling counterfeit goods this is where in 2018 York regional police raided and seized thousands of fake goods last summer they charged eight people to the crack down work we're about to find out just one day after the charges are laid we're inside with hidden cameras it takes no time at all to find luxury brands that don't look so legit sixty dollars for this panel and when we ask if we're buying authentic the truth comes out and that this stall the curtains are closed we have to knock to get inside why is there certain clothes today it's because the travelers so we're gonna closely in this you know why they I feel it's me they don't want to ask to stay here setting those stuff so there's no way you're gonna stay here seems like those charges might make a difference to know for sure months later we do another spot check and find dozens of counterfeit products still for sale are any of these real nope we share our findings with Pacific Mall they tell us consumer health and safety is a top priority and they believe the sale of counterfeits at their mall is extremely limited they also say they issue warnings to store owners and work with manufacturers and local police to identify fakes back at our marketplace fashion show our counterfeit experts say we have to be extra cautious when looking for a deal whether it's in store or online although you want to look for a good price you don't want to end up buying a counterfeit that can cause harm do so you really do have to be careful we ask all side retailers to come on camera to explain how they're cracking down on counterfeit products they all say no but tell us they're committed to stopping the sale of counterfeit products on our site using a combination of the latest technology and enforcement to protect consumers they say they vet their third-party sellers carefully and if they find out fakes are being sold they remove the products and sellers from their site now Walmart disagrees with our judges saying that what their third-party sellers sold us was legit and they all add if what you buy isn't as advertised you can always request a refund [Music] meantime our judges have some advice on how you can spot the fate well the first thing I would do is always contact the legitimate retailer to see if they actually do allow their products to be sold on Amazon if you suspect that you have bought something online that is fake the first thing you should do is call or email the Canadian anti-fraud centre the CAFC has a phenomenal project charge back where they're gonna work together with the payment processors through the CAFC and as a result that could result in a refund to you and most importantly it could trigger an investigation into the merchants we're all looking for a deal but be cautious do your research make sure you know what you're getting and more importantly where you're getting it from

Channel: CBC News

Views: 415,241

Rating: 4.4209447 out of 5

Keywords: Walmart, Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Wish, retailer, online shopping, cosmetics, makeup, sports jersey, handbags, purse, counterfeit, knockoff, fake, CBC, CBC News, CBC Marketplace

Id: WGTvHpdzRJM

Length: 20min 58sec (1258 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 21 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/ChrisCoffeexd]

“Funds terrorism” 158Sir driving to the factory in his lambo

[u/Official_Pandaa]

Hahaha Canada has just 69 counterfeit seizes in 3 years??? Fukk it we movin to Toronto and shipping out 30kg hauls...

[u/JesusKillsBabies]

Yea bro these Chinese fakes, of which we are almost in direct contact with the factories and are in direct contact with the vendor, are funding drug cartels and human trafficking. Dumb niggas in the government think all illegal money goes to immoral activities. They think the factories are importing children slaves or something, it’s fucking stupid. The only way reps would fund criminals like this directly is if the chinese mafia were to take control of factories or something similar like that. Fuck the US border patrol, free Pablo Escobar.

[u/eggmore]

kEepING thE cOunTrY saFe

[u/JesusKillsBabies]

Maybe the replica guns the us military sold isis were reps and this is what they mean.

[u/ChiefKeefSos4]

huh seems they forgot the US literally pays to fund terrorism...

[u/colmcg23]

Are those K9's sniffing for Hydrofufu?

[u/sprinkles3117]

Ohhhh mate, imagine if they trained an Hydroxyfufu dog, we be fucked!

[u/emjay96]

Mirror, TopStoney and being terrorists, lol