The waning days of summer mean it’s the second-most wonderful time of the year for retail sales: the back to school shopping season.
Millions of families are scouring the internet and hitting the malls to find everything from electronics to edgy new clothing while seeking ways to stretch their dollars.
However, the best deals may be threats in disguise in the form of counterfeit goods.
Counterfeit items come in all shapes and sizes and can be difficult to spot. And they are increasingly found in online marketplaces, where phony websites and fake products ranging from medicines to electronics are growing at an alarming rate.
This threat is especially apparent in the United States, where more people fall victim to counterfeiting than in any other country in the world, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
