Fake bike kit costing industry millions a year

Ten websites selling fake cycling kit such as counterfeit frames and jerseys have been shut down by US authorities – but one specialist has warned that the issue of fake goods is growing and costing the industry millions in lost revenue. Top American brand Specialized and Invista, the company behind Lycra and Coolmax fabric, worked with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers in Houston, Texas, to shut down the international sites this week. Officers seized more than US$90,000 (almost £60,000) in funds from PayPal and other accounts connected with the operations. However, Andrew Love, of Specialized’s Brand Security, Global Investigations, and Legal Enforcement department, told BikeRadar: “We’re under sustained attack right now.” Love, whose full time job is to hunt forgeries, shut down US$20,000 of counterfeit business in 2007 but saw that figure escalate to a massive US$5.2m in 2012. “We’re already halfway there this year,” he said, adding that quality of the counterfeits was “all over the place” but the best was improving all the time, making it harder for consumers to spot fakes.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/fake-bike-kit-costing-industry-millions-a-year-37212/