Killer Louboutin heels with that signature red sole for just $177, delivered to your door at 80% less than the $860 retail price...
It seems too good to be true - and it is.
Tens of thousands of online shoppers are falling for the latest variety of fakes flooding the Internet.
Despite ultra-convincing pictures and claims that the Web sites are run directly by the designers and the footwear is individually crafted in Europe, it's a scam.
The goods are neither handmade nor exclusive. They are mass-produced in China.
The "leather" often smells of toxic chemicals, the "hand-stitching" is replicated by sewing machine, and the sizing is inaccurate.
Return the purchase and, on top of the cost of shipping, customers are subject to a "restocking" fee of up to 20%. Little wonder most swallow the disappointment and don't bother to send them back.
If disappointment were the only result of the fraud, it wouldn't make headlines. Who really cares about image-obsessed fashionistas being ripped off?
On closer examination, however, this international con has a devastating and far-reaching effect.
Child labor, money laundering, prostitution and terrorist activity go hand in hand with the counterfeit trade managed by criminal gangs.
In a recent sweatshop raid in Thailand a group of children, all under 10 years old, was found assembling leather purses. Horrifyingly, their limbs had been deliberately broken to keep them from escaping. The owners had tied their lower legs to their thighs so the bones wouldn't mend.
Closer to home, fakes are believed to be responsible for the loss of 750,000 American jobs, many in Manhattan's famed Garment District. They cost New York City an estimated $1 billion each year in tax revenue.
Copyright and trademark violations by cleverly named Web sites such as ChristianLouboutinLondon.com and LouboutinOnly.com rob the fashion industry of millions more.
"People assume it's a victimless crime, but that couldn't be further from the truth," says magazine publisher Valerie Salembier, who heads Harper's Bazaar's anticounterfeiting program FakesAreNeverInFashion.com.
"If the end user knew that their $50 knock-off handbag funds terrifying practices by organized criminals, they would think again about that supposed bargain. In France, customers risk imprisonment or heavy fines for purchasing or carrying fake goods."
Read more:
Killer heels: Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo knock-offs rip off buyers, prey on child workers
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Warning: Authentic vs Fake Louboutin Websites
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Originally Posted by sherrymills
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