Buying cheaper counterfeit products for holidays can have high costs Federal agents have come across fake contact lenses, counterfeit prescription pills and software that can steal your identity

Buying knockoff purses or piratedDVDsmay seem harmless for some holiday shoppers, but money spent on counterfeit items can end up funding organized crime in the U.S. and around the world. And the products themselves can mess up your computers and steal your identity.TheUnited Nationscalls counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property a “plague” that has exploded globally in the past few years, and federal agencies are stepping up their efforts to combat it because of the threats it poses to consumers, domestic security and the nation’s economy.The U.N. estimates counterfeit goods generate $250 billion annually for criminal organizations.Locally, the Orlando office ofU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementoffice has targeted flea markets and mail facilities to intercept everything from fake contact lenses to software that can wipe your hard drive clean, according to Homeland Security officials.”You are taking a real risk when you buy these items,” said ICE Special Agent in Charge Mark Garrand. “It’s beyond purses and scarves. We want consumers to be aware when they shop online that if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.” Nationally, the number of counterfeiting-related arrests and seizures has quadrupled since 2009, data from the government’s Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center show.

Federal officials seized more than 130 website domains during a coordinated enforcement operation before Cyber Mondaythis year because they were selling pirated goods, said Carissa Cutrell, an ICE spokeswoman. Orlando businessman Dale Borders’ website was one of several targeted because it offers the “most sought after items at the lowest possible prices.”Borders sold counterfeit copies of Beach body’s “P90X” exercise DVDs he imported from overseas, complete with a forgery of the company’s trademark on the box, federal documents allege. Counterfeit items like these have been known to destroy personal computers and send personal information to remote computers that record online activity. Beach body shut down Borders’ website three times, but it reappeared, said Jonathan Gelfand, chief legal officer and senior vice president of business development for Beach body.”It’s a big cat-and-mouse game,” Gelfand, adding that the company found evidence factories in China were buying the exercise program and producing duplicates in bulk. “Unfortunately a lot of people think [piracy] is a victimless crime, but it directly impacts how we hire, our creativity and our charity work.”In 2011, Customs and Border Patrol agents in Cleveland seized scores of parcels addressed to Borders that contained P90X, Zumba and Disney DVDs. Borders surrendered the merchandise to authorities and said he had no other orders pending when they confronted him at his Central Florida home. But three days after the interview, agents seized two more boxes destined for Borders’ home that were labeled “Teaching materials” and “Learning materials.””Honestly, they know what they’re doing,” Garrand said of counterfeit sellers. “They have huge profit margin, and they don’t hide it.”Borders was found to have more than 2,200 boxed sets of the DVDs. Beach body charges about $120 to $330 in separate payments per boxed set, depending on the type of kit.Gelfand said companies such as his spend a fortune in court and investigative costs to stop criminals, and it cuts deeply into Beachbody’s profits — about $80 million in losses, he said. Borders pleaded guilty to trafficking counterfeit merchandise in November and faces a maximum of 10 years and $2 million in fines when sentenced.Gelfand said he and his counterparts are lobbying Congressto increase penalties for counterfeiters, but they have little power in foreign countries where the products originate.

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