Investigators say to be wary of extremely inexpensive online purchases: They could be counterfeit or stolen goods
Local investigators say if an item is one-third of the actual value, it is most likely a counterfeit
/ Sarah Bleau
ALBANY, GA -- In our Facebook Story of the Day, viewers wanted to know how to protect against online counterfeiters.
Online counterfeiters range from those selling fake products to those selling stolen products, according to Capt. Craig Dodd at the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office.
Dodd says be sure to only make online purchases from store websites. If purchasing from sites like eBay and Craigslist, investigators say be wary.
"You almost have to be looking for them. Like, if you go on eBay and go to Dooney and Bourke purses, and they have a huge selection of Dooney and Bourke purses, it's not just someone selling Dooney and Bourke purses," says Dodd.
He says if a website is offering a product at one-third of the actual value, it's most likely either a defective item, also known as "factory seconds" -- meaning it was rejected by the factory inspectors -- or it's possibly stolen or counterfeit.
"I don't care if its a store and they're selling counterfeits or if it's online, and you look at a Dooney and Bourke purse they should be $200 and online it's $35, common sense tells you it's either stolen property, fell off the back of a truck or it's going to be a counterfeit," says Dodd.
He says he's worked cases where people steal product from employers and sell it online, which he adds is not uncommon.
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