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BBB alert: Shopping for sports team merchandise? Research the business first

Submitted

Tue, Dec 13th 2022 03:45 pm

By the Better Business Bureau

With the holidays quickly approaching and the NFL season heading toward the playoffs, now is a popular time for people to purchase their favorite team's merchandise. But if you're looking to buy your loved one a jersey, be on the lookout for fakes being passed off as the real deal.

Just this week, Border Patrol agents in Buffalo seized fake NFL jerseys, including one of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

The Better Business Bureau has tips for buying sports merchandise:

•Be wary of deals that seem too good to be true. If the price of an items, collectable or not, is significantly less than what it is on other well-known retailers' sites, this is a red flag that it might be a scam. 

•Research the company before you purchase. If the company is unfamiliar, check BBB.org to see if they have a BBB Business Profile, or BBB Scam Tracker to see if anyone else has reported them as a scam. Look for contact information on the website such as a phone number or brick-and-mortar address as well, as a robust social media presence, to help determine if the company truly does exist.

•Never wire money or use a prepaid debit card as payment. Both payment types are often requested by scammers and, once the money is gone, there is no way to get the money back. Instead, make online purchases with a credit card and only on secure (https) websites.

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