US Customs and Border Protection officers last month seized more than a thousand AirPod and Apple Watch knockoffs on their way from China to Virginia.
Shipped to Washington Dulles International Airport, the four deliveries comprised 1,000 Apple AirPods (2nd Gen) and 50 Apple Watches. Trade experts at the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) verified the products as fakes; had they been sold as genuine articles at their current prices, scammers could have taken in approximately $289,550.
“Unscrupulous manufacturers and vendors illegally profit on the sale of substandard counterfeit products at the expense and safety of American consumers,” CBP Acting Area Port Director Christine Waugh said in a statement(Opens in a new window). “Customs and Border Production urges consumers to protect their health and wallets by buying authentic consumer goods from reputable or authorized vendors.”
Apple has long fought the sale of fraudulent products—its wireless earbuds in particular, some models of which are such good dupes that they trigger features like automatic pairing and battery indicator. To combat this issue, the company last year introduced a new iOS 16 function that warns users when they attempt to pair phony AirPods with an iPhone or iPad.
It’s not just Cupertino getting copied, though. In fiscal year 2020, US Customs seized approximately 295,000 pairs of big-name wireless earbuds, worth $61.7 million. Nine months into FY 2021, those numbers jumped to 360,000 pairs worth $62.2 million.
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CBP recommends folks buy items directly from the trademark holder or authorized retailers and check for a working US phone number and contact address when shopping online. The agency also provides a guide to spotting counterfeit products(Opens in a new window). Suspected fakes can be reported via the e-Allegations portal(Opens in a new window) or by calling 1-800-BE-ALERT.
Hands On With the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)
