Super Bowl Safety: Law enforcement cracking down counterfeit merchandise
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Another concern for law enforcement is the potential for scammers.They are on the lookout for any fake Super Bowl tickets and merchandise.
'Our message is simple. Don't put yourself at risk. Watch out for criminals who are looking to scam you and please buy tickets only from reliable sources,' said NFL Vice President of Legal Affairs Michael Buchwald.
During Super Bowl festivities the NFL and law enforcement say counterfeit merchandise sellers are all over the city.
Additional Department of Homeland Security agents in town to keep Super Bowl safe
Over the last year alone, agencies seized close to $40 million worth of counterfeit items, which also includes five fake Lombardi trophies.
'U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security investigations seized thousands of Chevys containing goods. That equates to over 200,000 counterfeit items, including jerseys, t-shirts, hats, jewelry and various memorabilia,' said Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center Ivan Arvelo.
Tonya brown with Homeland Security explains fake jerseys are also a big problem. She says anyone buying jerseys should look for possible signs, including poor quality, sloppy stitching and irregular markings.
'On a real one. And if you touch it, you can feel all of the detail. You can feel the stars, you can feel the football. On a fake one, it's flat. It's just a little piece of plastic, essentially, that's sewn on, and it's pretty smooth and you can't feel the detail,' said Brown.
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Super Bowl LIX tickets are only available digitally. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill reminds people to purchase event tickets only from trusted sources, such as Ticketmaster. She also says it's a good idea to pay with your credit card.
'If you feel like you've been scammed, and you're going to know because you're not going to be able to get into the game with a fake ticket, then you need to report it and you can report it either to my office, and you can also report it to the FBI,' said Murrill.
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