counterfeit

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3K+ Guitars Part of 'Massive Attempt to Con' US Consumers

They may have looked like real Gibsons worth $18M, but authorities say they're phonies

(Newser) - If they'd been actual Gibson guitars, the 3,000-plus musical instruments seized recently in California would've been worth around $18 million. They were phonies, however, and their interception at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport is now what the Los Angeles Times is calling "the largest counterfeit musical...

This Is the Largest-Ever US Seizure of Counterfeit Goods

New York authorities seize more than $1B in knock-off handbags, shoes, more

(Newser) - Federal authorities in New York announced on Wednesday the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods, consisting of handbags, shoes, and other luxury merchandise valued at more than $1 billion, the AP reports. Two people were charged with trafficking the knock-offs from a New York City storage unit and other locations from...

Widow of F-16 Pilot Blames His Death on Counterfeit Parts

David Schmitz's ejection seat failed in 2020

(Newser) - F-16 pilot David Schmitz was killed in June 2020 when his nighttime landing at a South Carolina base went wrong. Now the 32-year-old's widow has filed a federal lawsuit blaming counterfeit parts in his ejection seat for causing his death, reports the Air Force Times . Valerie Schmitz has sued...

Jerry Seinfeld's Fake Porsche Problem Is Resolved

Comedian has settled 2 lawsuits related to sale of $1.5M Carrera Speedster

(Newser) - Update: Jerry Seinfeld has settled a lawsuit accusing him of selling a counterfeit Porsche and another suit aimed at the dealer from which he purchased the classic car. Fica Frio Ltd. first raised the alarm about the 1958 Porsche Carrera Speedster, said to have been the only one factory-made in...

An Artificial Nose Is Sniffing Out Fake Whiskey
An Artificial Nose
Is Sniffing Out
Fake Whiskey
NEW STUDY
Apr 19, 2022 9:42 AM CDT

An Artificial Nose Is Sniffing Out Fake Whiskey

Study suggests NOS.E prototype is quite accurate and quick to boot

(Newser) - Few people can identify a whiskey from only a sniff—which is a problem for those willing to pay more than $10,000 for a supposedly rare dram in an industry proliferated by fake vintages . At least it was a problem before the NOS.E—an electronic nose that researchers...

Home Depot Worker Accused of 4-Year 'Funny Money' Scheme

Officials say Ariz. man replaced nearly $400K in real currency with fake cash

(Newser) - Times are tough, but law enforcement officials say one Home Depot employee went too far and allegedly used his job to steal almost $400,000 over a four-year period, per the New York Daily News . Adrian Jean Pineda of Tempe, Ariz., was arrested Jan. 31 for allegedly replacing genuine currency...

Charges: VA Nurse Got at Least $150 per Vaccination Card

Informant posed as a buyer during investigation

(Newser) - Since coronavirus vaccination cards became a feature of pandemic life, authorities have said they've thwarted schemes to sell fake cards . Investigators say a Veterans Affairs nurse in Michigan was selling the real thing, going so far as to provide her customers with genuine lot numbers. Bethann Kierczak was arrested...

DHS Seizes 'Low-Quality' Fake Vaccination Cards

Sellers advertise bogus documents openly online

(Newser) - On Thursday, New Orleans announced that anyone wanting to enter a bar, restaurant, gym, or concert will have to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test, WDSU reports. On Friday, customs officers said they had intercepted a shipment of fake cards on their way to...

Bar Owner Charged With Making Fake Vaccination Cards

Counterfeits sold for $20, investigators say

(Newser) - The owner of a California bar has been charged with making and selling fake coronavirus vaccination cards. State investigators received a tip about the false cards, then began an undercover operation, ABC reports. The agents said they bought cards for $20 each from Todd Anderson on different visits to Old...

Alleged Lottery Scam Involves Paper and Glue

Odis Latham, 47, and Russell Sparks, 48, were arrested Monday in Mississippi

(Newser) - Authorities in Mississippi say two men attempted to scam the state lottery commission by submitting a losing ticket that had the winning numbers glued onto it, the AP reports. Odis Latham, 47, and Russell Sparks, 48, were arrested Monday and charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and uttering a...

Bank Customer Walks In With a Highly Unusual Bill

But tellers at Pinnacle Bank in Lincoln, Nebraska, weren't fooled

(Newser) - At least he tried? A guy walked into a Nebraska bank Monday and tried opening a checking account with a fake $1 million bill, the Lincoln Journal Star reports. He swore it was real, but tellers at Pinnacle Bank in Lincoln disagreed and he walked out. Now police are trying...

Artificial 'Tongue' Is Bad News for Counterfeit Whisky

Device allows for 'faster and more accurate' testing

(Newser) - Counterfeit whisky is a big problem —hence why researchers in Scotland have invented a "tongue" better able to distinguish between fake and authentic bottles than the human equivalent. Alasdair Clark of the University of Glasgow explains the artificial tongue "uses two different types of nanoscale metal '...

Woman Enters Car Dealership With $16K in Home-Made Bills

But her plan didn't exactly work out

(Newser) - A woman who tried buying a car with home-made money ended up leaving the dealership in the back of a police car, Fox News reports. The 20-year-old German, who remains unidentified, carried the equivalent of $16,830 into a dealership in the city of Kaiserslautern on Friday. But the 50...

Police Raid Chinese Company Making Not-Quite Legos

$30M in knockoffs seized at factory

(Newser) - A raid on a factory in China last week discovered $30 million of fake Legos, the BBC reports, and more than 630,000 finished products were seized. Police, who posted photos of building blocks that looked a lot like Legos, said the toys had been copied from Lego blueprints. At...

WHO: Clandestine Factories Making Fake Drugs That Harm

Agency found that fake or substandard drugs are big problem worldwide

(Newser) - While some people are getting sick, others are getting rich, NPR reports—and a new World Health Organization study reveals why. It's all linked to counterfeit drugs, notes the report from the WHO, which estimates one in 10 medical products in low- and middle-income nations is either substandard (licensed...

Selling 'Tiffany' Engagement Rings Just Cost Costco $19.4M

Judge rules against warehouse club, which sold jewelry using Tiffany brand name

(Newser) - A federal judge's decision on trademark infringement likely has Costco executives feeling blue—but definitely not Tiffany blue. Per CNBC , US District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled Monday the warehouse club must fork over $19.4 million in damages, plus interest, to the luxury jeweler for selling diamond engagement...

7 Most Counterfeited Products in the US

Did you get ripped off on your shoes?

(Newser) - Counterfeiters do a booming business in the US, if seizures by US Customs and Border Protection are any indication. 24/7 WallSt pored over data related to more than 31,000 seized shipments last year to come up with the most commonly counterfeited items in the US. The list below has...

Feds Seize $1.6M in Counterfeit Hoverboards

Counterfeit hoverboards are exploding—er, proliferating—in the US

(Newser) - Federal officers recently seized nearly 2,400 counterfeit—and possibly prone to explode —hoverboards in shipments that arrived at South Carolina's Port of Charleston, the Charleston City Paper reports. The hoverboards , which were made in China, would have been worth more than $1.6 million retail, according to...

In the Future, Blowing on Cash Could Reveal If It's Counterfeit

Scientists look to beetle-based technology

(Newser) - Scientists are working on an easier way to detect counterfeit money—and they have beetles to thank for it. The system, which would allow people to reveal counterfeit cash by breathing on it, is based on the ability of a longhorn beetle species to change color based on local humidity,...

No. 1 Producer of Bogus US Bills Is...

Peru, where counterfeiting is 'more profitable than cocaine'

(Newser) - Forget cocaine: Peru's big money-maker is making money—the fake variety. Counterfeiting has taken off in the country, which has overtaken Colombia as the largest source of fake US currency in the last two years, the AP reports. The phony money typically finds its way into the US, Argentina,...

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