Beware Black Friday Scams & Counterfeit Goods!
US Customs & FBI warnings to shoppers
As you shop for Black Friday deals, authorities are warning US consumers to beware of scams and counterfeit products as you look to fill your shopping cart.
Let’s begin with counterfeit goods, which US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Agents are constantly fighting to keep out of the country and from reaching unwary consumers.
Last year, the CBP seized nearly 79 million counterfeit items valued at more than $7.3 billion as they entered the country. These items, including fake medications, perfumes, and cosmetics; children’s toys and costumes; fashion, jewelry, and luxury products; and unsafe electronics and automotive parts, can pose serious health and safety risks to American consumers.
Many of these counterfeit products are made with substandard materials or components and can be hazardous to your health. This includes:
Consumer products like toothpaste, shampoo, makeup, or perfume.
Counterfeit pharmaceuticals that are missing necessary active ingredients or those that contain fentanyl/other opioids.
Counterfeit automotive parts like airbags and brake pads that result in catastrophic consequences for the driver and other motorists.
The vast majority (95%) of these fake products come from China & Hong Kong:
Recent seizures include:
$775,000 in counterfeit toys (which are not made to US safety standards and can pose choking hazards to children) confiscated by CBP Agents at the Port of Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia, on October 29, 2025.
$3.53 million worth of counterfeit weight loss drugs, as well as Botox, Juvéderm, dermal fillers, erectile dysfunction medication, and contact lenses seized in Cincinnati in August in a combined CBP - Food & Drug Administration (FDA) operation.
The seized shipments had final destinations to 40 of the 50 states including Washington D.C. Most shipments were heading to Texas, Florida. Georgia, Colorado, California, and New York.
Consumers can avoid unknowingly purchasing counterfeit goods by shopping directly from name-brand manufacturers and well-known retail outlets, as well as avoiding mail-order pharmacies.
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Finally, with all the online holiday shopping going on, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns consumers to beware of the scams that are common this time of year.
Scams include:
non-delivery scams, where you pay for goods or services you find online, but you never receive your items
non-payment scams, where you ship purchased goods or services, but you never receive payment for them
auction fraud, where a product you purchase was misrepresented on an auction site
gift card fraud, where a seller asks you to pay with a pre-paid card
According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center’s (IC3) 2024 report, non-payment and non-delivery scams cost people more than $785 million that year. Credit card fraud accounted for another $199 million in losses.
Report holiday scams to ic3.gov, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
If you’ve been scammed, you should also contact your credit card company or your bank to dispute any suspicious charges.
Have you ever been victimized by an online scam or solicited to buy goods you were concerned might be fake?
Share your experiences in the comments to this article!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
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