6 signs you’re buying fake Super Bowl stuff

Counterfeit NFL merchandise is popping up in the Bay Area in advance of Super Bowl 50. Homeland Security says it has confiscated $20 million worth of fake merchandise in San Francisco and the South Bay, much of it from China.

The sale of counterfeit merchandise not only impacts the NFL’s bottom line, it hurts the U.S. economy, and the money often ends up funding criminal activity, from gangs to terrorism. That’s according to Intellectual Property Rights Director Bruce Foucart, with Homeland Security Investigations in San Francisco. KION’s Paul Dudley interviewed Foucart this week.

While fake merchandise may be tempting, the counterfeit stuff is often a rip-off for buyers looking to save some money. KION spoke with Matthew Bourke with the IPR Center in San Francisco about some of the tell-tale signs of fake swag. Here’s what to look for:

1. Split- tags
2. No Super Bowl 50 hologram on T-shirts
3. Poor material for replica Super Bowl rings that may be missing some of the “gems”
4. When it comes to jerseys, Bourke explains, “There are tell-tale signs for how you can tell it’s fake. An obvious way, there’s misspellings. This is a Broncos jersey, it’s spelled Brondos.”
5. No UPC code (according to Bourke, all NFL material comes with a hologram UPC code.
6. Poor quality and stitching (fake products also typically have frayed edges and loose threads)