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NFL Urges Fans To Beware Of Fake Tickets, Items

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Frederick R. Chow displays a counterfeit NFL jersey as he talks with reporters after a raid on a booth at a local flea market where hundreds of jerseys were seized Wednesday morning in Tampa.

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STACIE SCHAIBLE and JOSH POLTILOVE

sschabile@wfla.com jpoltilove@tampatrib.com

Published: January 29, 2009

TAMPA - Super Bowl ticket counterfeiters get more sophisticated each year, but there are things people can do to make sure they don't get swindled.

Fans should make sure to look for the hologram of two images on the back of tickets, NFL Senior Counsel Anastasia Danias said during a press conference today at the Tampa Convention Center.

"We have seen counterfeiters in the past on silver foil print both images," she warned. "You can't see them in true color that pops when you look at them at [an] angle, but a very enthusiastic fan will sometimes look at the foil and think, 'This looks close enough to me.'"

Counterfeit tickets generally make their way into the market starting on late Thursday or Friday of Super Bowl weekend, Danias said.

"One of the important messages we want to get out to everybody is be very cautious," she said. "Even if the ticket looks real, it may have been reported lost or stolen. If it's been reported lost or stolen, you won't get into the game."

Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Tampa, said that since Sunday, investigators have conducted seven operations in the area and seized more than 800 pieces of NFL merchandise. Those items, which have a street value of more than $100,000, include NFL jerseys, T-shirts and cell phone holders.

A major operation Wednesday at International Flea Market in Tampa found counterfeit NFL merchandise and other items valued at over $1.2 million, McCormick said.

"Bottom line, if the price is too good to be true, it's probably counterfeit," she said.

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