Mammoth Blog

The National Football League is working with Federal and local law enforcementm and trying to crack down on counterfeit operations during Super Bowl week in Tampa.

Counterfeiting is a $200 to $300 billion business. Because much of the merchandise comes from overseas it takes away business from American workers. Cities lose out on revenue as result of counterfeit operations because those dealing with the phony merchandise don't usually pay sales tax.

Raids on Wednesday closed down some counterfeit operations, but the NFL and law enforcement know there will be more because they say there is such a huge profit for the counterfeit vendors.

The NFL says it is cracking down on the counterfeiters to protect its brand and to protect consumers as well. The league says counterfeit merchandise is no bargain because it is often low quality and consumers have no remedy if they are unhappy.

NFL Attorney Anastasia Danias says it is challenging to stop the counterfeit merchandise because the counterfeiters are getting more sophisticated every year. This is particularly true concerning tickets, which cost more than 1000 dollars. Danias says fans travel far and wide to see their favorite teams; they spend thousands of dollars for tickets to the game; and sometimes the tickets they buy are fake. That means the fans will be turned away from the gate disappointed and with no recourse. The NFL says beware of where you buy the tickets, because in the past some people have sold real tickets, but they are lost or stolen. If the ticket is reported lost or stolen a fan won't get into the game with it.

When it comes to tickets look for a double hologram that shows Tampa at one angle and then the Super Bowl 43 logo at another angle; you should be able to see through the words Super Bowl on the backside where it is printed backwards on the ticket; and then look for the special ink on the back that is heat sensitive. If you rub the back of the ticket it will disappear and then once it cools down it comes back.

The NFL says the best way to keep from getting burned on tickets is to buy them from an authorized NFL dealer. source>>>