Super Bowl fans beware. A team of federal and local officials announced Thursday that they have confiscated more than 170,00 counterfeit sports items worth about $15.69 million. The items span nearly all sports and all teams.So far, the year-round joint effort has led to 65 arrests and 24 convictions.
Above is some of the fake merchandise seized by federal and local law officials. Con artists are still out there ready to prey on fans, was the repeated warning during a press conference that included NFL, Homeland Security and Minneapolis police officials, Bogus items seized include jerseys, hats, cell phone accessories and shirts. Phony game tickets also may be out there, they warned. "The quality of counterfeit tickets can be quite sophisticated," said Michael Buchwald, NFL senior counsel. "But no matter how real the tickets look, a fake ticket won't get you in the game on Sunday."Genuine tickets that were reported lost or stolen also won't get a fan in the game, he said.To be safe, officials warn football fans to buy tickets and merchandise from legitimate and authorized sellers. "We don't want people to get cheated or robbed out of their money," said Minneapolis Police Lt. Kim Lund.
