Beware Phony Super Bowl Merchandise

Before New York and New England ever hit the field Sunday,  Operation Fake Sweep was in full swing.  ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials announced Thursday they had shut down or seized 307 websites that were selling counterfeit Super Bowl Merchandise.

The fake items included fake jerseys, caps, t shirts and othe football memorabilia.  Over 40,000 items were directly seized,  officials estimate the value to be in excess of 4.8 million.   The number of items and value was noticably higher than 2010, when about 3.72 million dollars worth were seized.  16 of the websites shut down were offering or streaming NFL and Super Bowl content illegally.  Officials also found many of these sites were also offering counterfeit NHL, NBA and MLB souveniers and clothing.