For tens of millions of students in the United States, a new school year means new clothes, backpacks, electronics, and other supplies. It can also mean exposure to potentially dangerous counterfeits.
To outfit their kids during this year’s back-to-school season, U.S. families are prepared to spend, on average, nearly $1,000. For parents managing long shopping lists and tight budgets, a steep discount can be difficult to pass up. Counterfeiters count on it.
The consequences can be serious. Many counterfeit goods bypass the safety testing and quality controls legitimate products uphold, exposing families to hazards they never expected to encounter on a school-supply list. Fake laptop batteries and chargers can overheat, malfunction, or catch fire. Counterfeit clothing may contain hazardous chemicals or heavy metals. Fraudulent storefronts and suspicious links may also expose families’ payment details and other personal information.
The growth of online shopping has created new avenues for counterfeiters to reach families. As shoppers increasingly turn to social media, AI, and other online marketplaces and digital shopping tools, it has become more difficult to determine if a product is authentic. With almost two-thirds of parents planning to let their children add products directly to online carts, careful review before checkout is especially important.
Federal enforcement data illustrates the scale of the counterfeit problem writ large. In fiscal year 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 78.4 million counterfeit items. Had those items been genuine, they would have had an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $7.4 billion.
As C4IP Executive Director Frank Cullen recently explained on the Teaching Matters podcast, criminals have expanded beyond the shopping seasons traditionally associated with counterfeit goods, like the holiday season or major sporting events.
“They’re going to go out there and try to figure new ways to rip consumers off,” he said. “And one of those areas they saw that was ripe for the picking was the back-to-school market.”
Families can reduce their risk by treating unusually low prices with skepticism and verifying the seller before making a purchase. Buying directly from a brand itself or an authorized retailer is generally safer than purchasing from an unfamiliar third party. Misspellings, inconsistent product images, unusual grammar, and missing certification marks can also indicate that something is amiss.
“Do your homework and make sure you’re doing business with trusted sources,” Cullen advised.
Consumers who receive a suspected counterfeit should report it. These reports can help law enforcement identify sellers and prevent potentially dangerous goods from reaching other families.
But parents should not have to police online marketplaces on their own, especially when their children’s safety may be at stake. Congress can help by passing the bipartisan SHOP SAFE Act.
The bill would make e-commerce platforms liable for sales of certain counterfeit goods unless they take steps to vet sellers, screen listings, remove repeat offenders, and work with brand owners. Cullen described SHOP SAFE as “a step toward making online shopping safer” and providing greater protection to consumers and brand owners.
Counterfeit sales undermine inventors and harm legitimate businesses. They can also expose students to potential dangers. Back-to-school shopping is another reminder that counterfeiting is a year-round problem.
Families can and should take precautions, but the burden should not fall on them alone. Congress should act now to help keep dangerous fakes out of Americans’ homes.