Check out the following articles, which
will help you understand fraud, customs and ways to protect yourself.
Customs
This article will deal with the responsibilities of US Customs
and how they have become their own brand of BEANIE EXPERTS!
Ty, Inc has experienced an ongoing fight with trademark violations
and counterfeit Beanie Babies.
US Customs major responsibility is to administer the Tariff Act
of 1930.
Customs and International Trade Laws involve a field of law concerned
with government procedures and regulations affecting the importation
and exportation of goods into the United States.
Customs also deals with smuggling and fraud issues and enforces
the regulations of Federal agencies.
http://www.msjanie.com/articles/customs.html
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Counterfeit Beanie
The Story Behind Counterfeits!
Counterfeiting can be a very serious offence.
Ty, Inc. stands to lose millions of dollars to organizations illegally
marketing and counterfeiting Beanies. Counterfeiting is a lazy
way of making money off of someone else's product. We must all
ban together and stop the flow of counterfeit Beanies.
Ty has set up a hotline number for suspected counterfeits. If
you feel you may have purchased a counterfeit Beanie, call the
number at once.
1-888-317-5489
This article is being written to help you determine what counterfeiting
is and offer helpful hints on how not to get caught holding the
bag!
What is Counterfeiting???
Counterfeiting is a criminal offense! Many individuals and companies
make an imitation of a trademarked product with the intent to
defraud others into thinking it's a genuine item. The term counterfeiting
is usually associated most frequently with money, paintings, manufactured
parts and now Beanie Babies.
It may be unlawful to buy, import, obtain and process counterfeits.
Counterfeit passing is just as serious. There is no defense in
IGNORANCE! If a counterfeit piece can be spotted by the average
collector and traced back to the source, be prepared to face the
consequences. You must be able to prove without a doubt that you
had no knowledge of passing off a counterfeit, or you could be
held accountable.
http://www.msjanie.com/articles/archives/counterfeit.html
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This next press release is shared as a reminder
of how serious Internet Fraud can be!
United States Department of Justice
PAIR CHARGED WITH INTERNET
AUCTION FRAUD SCHEME PLEAD GUILTY
Shreveport, Louisiana . . . United States Attorney Bill Flanagan
announced that GREGORY L. CAMPBELL, age 50, and LUCILLE M. LISCOMB,
age 35, both originally from Goodyear, Arizona, and last known
to reside in Winnsboro, indicted only last week for using an internet
auction site at auction.yahoo.com to defraud people bidding to
purchase Beanie Babies or computer merchandise, entered guilty
pleas today in U.S. District Court in Monroe.
CAMPBELL and LISCOMB pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail
fraud. The defendants instructed any person who won the internet
auction bid to mail payments for their merchandise to one of six
United States Post Office boxes which they had opened in various
small towns in northeast Louisiana, namely, Columbia, Fort Necessity,
Baskin, Archibald, Mangham, and Sterlington.
The defendants received over $20,000 in payments from at least 31 customers from throughout the United States and overseas. The defendants told the victims they would send the merchandise they had purchased, a representation they knew to be false. The defendants never delivered the merchandise as promised.
CAMPBELL and LISCOMB each face a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, or both. The defendants will also be required to make restitution to the victims of this offense. Sentencing is scheduled for January 16, 2001 before U.S. District Judge Robert James in Monroe.
CAMPBELL and LISCOMB have been held without
bond since their arrest on August 31, 2000.
U.S. Attorney Flanagan said: "The quick resolution of this
case is indicative of the fine investigative work done by the
FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Louisiana State Police,
and the Sterlington, Louisiana Police Department."
Flanagan added: "In addition to the potential prison sentence
and fine, it is important to us that all victims of this offense
receive full restitution."
For further information, please contact United States Attorney Bill Flanagan or Assistant United States Attorney Robert W. Gillespie, Jr. at 318-676-3600.
This and other press releases issued by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana can be found at our website at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/law/pressrel.html
I will keep you abreast of this case and inform you once the trial is over.
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IFCC's mission is to address fraud committed over the Internet. For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at all levels, IFCC offers a central repository for complaints related to Internet fraud, works to quantify fraud patterns, and provides timely statistical data of current fraud trends.
Please visit the Internet Fraud Complaint
Center at the following address
http://www.ifccfbi.gov/