More than v,200 counterfeit fridge water filters from Red china were seized in July at the LA/Long Beach Seaport. (Photo by U.S. Community and Border Protection)

For years, Montreal resident Brent George bought replacement water filters for his fridge from a local appliance store. Then ane time he turned to Amazon, where he often shopped for other products. Besides beingness more convenient, the online filters he selected — sold past a third party and not by manufacturer Whirlpool — were also cheaper.

Ultimately, George got more than he expected: an introduction to the hidden and potentially harmful world of counterfeit refrigerator water filters. Many consumers may exist unaware of the adventure of buying fake filters online, merely sources in law enforcement and the appliance industry say it'south significant — and likely growing.

Refrigerator filters are an attractive target for unscrupulous sellers looking to make a quick buck. They're pricey (typically upwards to $fifty), purchased every six months at the bidding of large corporations, and ofttimes difficult for consumers to evaluate.

By slapping some labels, packaging and fake certifications on lookalike filters with footling functionality, so selling them online at discounted prices — straight to consumers or via intermediaries who may not ever be in on the act — counterfeiters can undercut legitimate manufacturers and still profit.

False filters "in the millions"

They may also be putting consumers at risk by selling filters that are not simply ineffective, but dangerous. Along with declining to do what they merits, counterfeits can innovate chemicals such as arsenic, a carcinogen, and octane, a petroleum-derived solvent, into users' drinking water, according to a May 2018 report from the industry grouping Clan of Dwelling house Appliance Manufacturers.

The organization representing more than 100 appliance brands and suppliers has argued for better protections against fake filters in meetings with Amazon, the Consumer Product Prophylactic Commission, the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Eye and the White House, said Jill Notini, the group'due south spokeswoman. Its efforts accept stirred interest in the effect, she said, but not much action.

Neither the association nor 3 major filter manufacturers could tell FairWarning how much counterfeiting costs the companies in lost revenue. Simply Notini said the grouping estimates the number of fake water filters to be "in the millions."

And the threat appears to be increasing. Betwixt 2016 and 2018, seizures of fake refrigerator water filters at U.Southward. ports grew considerably. In all, Customs and Edge Protection seized more 150,000 such products or related parts in dozens of cases nationwide, according to the agency's most recent data, provided to FairWarning.

In July, customs officers at the Los Angeles/Long Embankment Seaport, which accounts for 43 percent of all cargo entering the United States, seized 5,200 counterfeit filters from a shipment of various products sent from Prc to an address in Washington land.

Notini said she understood that the filters, which mimicked the brands Brita, GE, Frigidaire and PUR, were headed to a known Amazon seller. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jaime Ruiz confirmed just that the products were intended to be sold "in an online store."

Packaging can be tip-off

Presently after George received his two new filters in the mail, he began to suspect that something was wrong. "When they showed up, they were suspiciously wrapped," he said in an interview with FairWarning. The hard plastic shell and softer plastic wrap looked "sloppy" and diameter water spots, virtually equally if they or the filters had previously been used.

"And I distinctly remembered holographic stickers on the ones I bought before, and suddenly I noticed that was missing," he said.

George said he reached out to Whirlpool to ask if there was any chance a legitimate replacement filter would lack a holographic sticker. He was told no. After reporting the alleged fraud, he received a refund from Amazon and a contrite note from the seller. He discarded the filters before they ever reached his refrigerator.

Many other consumers may not exist so lucky, though it is difficult to say how many. Counterfeits by their very nature are hard to track, especially when they're not expected — as is oft the case with replacement water filters. Most probably get undetected, Notini said.

Buyers who doubtable they've been duped may attain out to the seller, the market, the manufacturer of the copied product or diverse authorities agencies. What happens next varies – from criminal prosecution to a slap on the wrist.

Amazon spokeswoman Cecilia Fan said the company investigates whatsoever claim of counterfeiting thoroughly, "including removing the item, permanently removing the bad player, pursuing legal action or working with law enforcement as appropriate."

In the instance of the July seizure in Los Angeles, the importer was not prosecuted just likely lost a lot of coin, said Ruiz. "Nosotros believe that this would deter the importer to try to smuggle filters again."

Ferreting out fakes at the nation's ports is a complex and daunting process with the arrival every year of 11 million containers at sea ports, x million coming in on trucks, and another 3 million by rail, he explained.

Federal agents target lookalikes

Concluding year, Customs and Border Protection seized nearly 34,000 shipments containing counterfeit goods, or nearly 100 per day.

Officers rails every container and its contents electronically. They utilize "sophisticated targeting systems" to call attention to new businesses and changed addresses or production types, Ruiz said. "Anything in the system that could create an anomaly raises a ruby flag."

If counterfeits are found, they are seized and destroyed. "Our goal is to facilitate and expedite trade, merely nosotros too want to brand certain products are in compliance with U.S. law," Ruiz said.

But the bureau isn't keeping pace with online counterfeiters and needs to coordinate better with the private sector, according to a 2018 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. "Sharing additional information most seized items with rights-holding companies and eastward-commerce websites could improve enforcement," the report stated.

Theoretically, a single faulty fridge filter could taint thousands of glasses of drinking water, Notini said .

For her organisation's 2018 study, three independent laboratories assessed dissimilar aspects of fake filters' performance. Known counterfeits were purchased online by appliance manufacturers including LG, Electrolux, Samsung, Whirlpool, GE Appliances and Sub-Zero.

According to the report, one lab constitute that all 32 counterfeits it tested failed to meet advertised standards for lead removal. Some other lab tested viii filters for removal of the microscopic parasite Cryptosporidium parvum, a common cause of waterborne disease in the United States, and again none passed.

The third lab soaked 46 filters in make clean water to run across if they'd leach new chemicals. Some, but not all, contaminated the h2o with a total of ten different compounds — including, in 1 instance, arsenic at levels approaching federal drinking-h2o limits.

"Different food form materials used in certified filters that are tested and approved," the report reads, "these counterfeits probable used cheaper, not-food form materials, which are known to leach these kinds of chemicals."

Counterfeiters roost on Amazon

Amazon largely relies on two programs called Make Registry and Projection Zip to go along counterfeits off its site, whether that ways h2o filters or handbags, said spokeswoman Fan. Both crave manufacturers and brand owners to be proactive by providing detailed product information and reporting suspected fakes for firsthand removal.

"Nosotros absolutely don't want counterfeit products, and so at that place's a lot that we do, just ultimately, brands are going to know their products improve than anybody else," she said.

Port officials snagged counterfeits of popular water filter brands in a July seizure at the LA/Long Embankment Seaport. (Photo by U.Southward. Customs and Edge Protection)

A dissever system scans product reviews for claims of inauthenticity, which can then be investigated, Fan added.

Amazon'due south policy for sellers requires that all water filters exist certified to current standards by one of a handful of reputable outfits. But that doesn't stop sophisticated counterfeiters from faking that, too, reproducing the National Sanitation Foundation's widely trusted "NSF" logo, said Notini.

The e-commerce and auction site eBay — where a recent search for "refrigerator water filter" turned upward more than 25,000 listings, representing untold numbers of individual filters — doesn't have whatsoever special policies for filters at all. According to a spokeswoman, the company primarily depends upon customers and brands to study suspected fakes.

Counterfeiters are also finding customers through independent, oftentimes generic-sounding websites that specialize in selling water filters at reduced prices, said GE Appliances spokeswoman Julie Wood.

"Our visitor is seeing an increased trend in direct shipment of counterfeits, from foreign sellers to U.Due south. addresses," Wood said. "We take seen several discount websites that we believe advertise, perhaps unwittingly, counterfeit or deceptive knock-off h2o filters."

In the last year alone, officers have seized almost 14,000 counterfeit GE-branded refrigerator water filters at the nation'due south ports, she added.

Jillian Hillard, director of ownership marketing for Sweden-based appliance manufacturer Electrolux, said that in improver to buying straight from the company, customers seeking a sure thing can use a search function on its website to locate authorized retailers, many of which also sell filters online.

Industry aims to brainwash public

"Counterfeits and knockoffs are a concern for all industries," Hillard said. "Manufacturers like us want to protect our product, nosotros want to protect our make, and we want to protect the consumer."

In hopes of slowing counterfeiting's spread, Electrolux and its U.Southward. subsidiary Frigidaire are both working to enhance its contour. Newly released educational videos and other materials are designed to "let consumers know that they have to be aware of counterfeits and knockoffs, and what the fundamental criteria for spotting them are," Hillard said.

In addition to costing less, fake filters oftentimes counterbalance less and come up in similar, but poorer-quality packaging. The product, packaging or online listing may also contain misspellings or other typographical errors.

Notini, who leads the appliance-manufacturers association'south anti-counterfeit efforts from Washington, D.C., is prepared for a protracted battle.

"The counterfeiters endeavour to stay one step alee," she said. "We're trying to beat the drum considering it'southward not an effect that'southward going to go away."

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