WASHINGTON - If you are planning to get some awesome Capitals gear during the Stanley Cup Final, make sure you've got your inspector gadget glasses on. Counterfeit sellers are out and about on the street and online selling fraudulent Stanley Cup playoff items.
Last year during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 2,500 items were seized by the NHL and local law enforcement. They added up to approximately $143,000. Jia Wang, an NHL attorney and counterfeit specialist, told WUSA9's Chris Williamson that he expects about the same number of fake gear for this year's playoffs.
"As the excitement builds for fans to purchase gear, the counterfeiters want to be able to profit off of that excitement," he said. "They are trying to have all the same bells and whistles that the real merchandise has so they can deceive fans, but we want our fans to know what to look for."
The first thing to look for is the NHL hologram tag on the merchandise.
"In addition to the serial number, the hologram should change from English to French when you tilt it under the light," he explained. "The fake jersey doesn't have a serial code number on the tag and is just a piece of cardboard."
Secondly, identifying some sort of licensing tag or sticker is a way to separate the real item from the fake one.
He explained how an authentic Capitals hat has the Adidas sticker on the side of it. Then, on the underside of the hat, you've got the NHL tag, hologram and Adidas label. The counterfeit one didn't have any those stickers.
"We also see bad stitching on the counterfeit items as well," he said. "There's a lot of loose threads."
The last two keys to determining if you are getting your money's worth: coloring and spelling.
"A lot of times you will see names are misspelled on different products and then the counterfeiters get the colors noticeable wrong."
Wang said your best bet to not get scammed is to buy from the team store or a trusted retailer.
