Counterfeit products can 'blow up' in your face, figuratively and literally

The seller told agents the products were purchased from a website HSI has now taken down, but shutting down illegitimate online shops is a challenge akin to beheading Medusa. As soon as one is closed down, sellers quickly find another one willing to offer incredible deals. — Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

Christmas and Black Friday shoppers looking to shower loved ones with luxurious gifts may be wise to avoid criminally good deals underselling brand products like Chanel's No. 5 with its signature yellow-tinted perfume.

"Results have come back from the lab that it's been mixed in with urine," a Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson said Thursday of counterfeit items seized by the agency in the past. "You never know what kind of liquid is actually inside a perfume bottle."