Counterfeit goods scam

A "designer outlet" or "factory direct" site sells branded items — Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Nike, Apple — at prices well below retail. The site uses stolen product photos from the real brand. Once you pay, one of three things happens:

1. A counterfeit ships with the brand logo and obvious quality flaws.
2. Customs intercepts the counterfeit and you receive nothing.
3. The site disappears within weeks; you receive nothing.

Even in the first case, US customs may seize the counterfeit at the border. Some buyers also face civil-forfeiture letters from the brand's law firm.

• Designer or branded items at 70%+ discount.
• Domain is brand-adjacent ("rolex-outlet-store.shop") with privacy WHOIS.
• No verifiable brick-and-mortar address.
• Shipping originates from China, Hong Kong, or Vietnam (acceptable for legitimate Chinese brands, but suspect for "American factory direct").
• Reviews on the site are all 5-star with similar voice.
• Payment options are limited (no PayPal Goods & Services, sometimes only wire or crypto).
• Branding is slightly off — wrong font, off-shade logo, missing trademark symbols.

1. Real luxury brands sell exclusively through their own boutiques and authorized retailers. Genuine clearance does not happen through unknown domains.
2. Check the brand's official site for a list of authorized resellers.
3. Cross-check Trustpilot, BBB, Reddit for the seller's name.
4. Use a credit card so you can chargeback. Never wire or send crypto for "luxury" goods.
5. Apply the rule: the cost of a counterfeit is not just the money — it can be customs trouble, brand-enforcement letters, and embarrassment.

• File a chargeback with your credit-card issuer for "merchandise not received" or "not as described."
• Open a PayPal dispute if you used PayPal Goods & Services.
• Report the seller to the brand's anti-counterfeiting team (most luxury brands have one).
• Report to the FTC and IC3.
• Take photos of what arrived vs. authentic reference photos to support the dispute.
• Don't try to resell what arrived — that compounds liability.

• Do not wire money or send crypto for "designer goods."
• Do not ignore a customs seizure notice — respond per the instructions.
• Do not attempt to dispute the customs seizure yourself; consult a customs broker if the value warrants.
• Do not continue ordering from the site once you've identified it as counterfeit.

• FTC: reportfraud.ftc.gov — the broadest US fraud intake; reports flow to thousands of law-enforcement agencies.
• FBI IC3: ic3.gov — the right destination when the scam is internet-enabled (phishing, BEC, romance, crypto).
• CFPB: consumerfinance.gov/complaint — for complaints about banks, money transmitters, payment apps, credit cards, debt collection.
• IdentityTheft.gov — if any identity information (SSN, driver's license, account credentials) was shared.
• Your bank or payment platform. Call the number on the back of your card or use the app's in-product help. Time matters — wires can sometimes be recalled within hours; ACH and Zelle are harder but worth trying.