Overview
- CBP issued a holiday-season alert urging consumers to avoid counterfeit merchandise sold online, stressing safety risks, economic harm and the fact that importing fakes is illegal and can bring penalties.
- The agency reports nearly 79 million counterfeit items seized nationwide in fiscal year 2025, with an estimated authentic retail value exceeding $7.3 billion.
- CBP Houston says officers regularly encounter unsafe counterfeits, noting more than $187 million in manufacturer-suggested retail value seized at the Houston/Galveston port this year.
- Officials flag high-risk categories that frequently fail safety standards, including medicines, perfumes and cosmetics, children’s toys and costumes, fashion and luxury goods, electronics and auto parts.
- A recent Norfolk–Newport News case intercepted 17,634 counterfeit children’s products valued at about $776,000, and CBP urges reporting suspected fakes via its trade complaint portal or the National IPR Center.