Feds Seize More Than 80 Websites in Piracy Crackdown

(Wall Street Journal) - Federal authorities said Monday they seized 82 internet websites allegedly used to distribute counterfeit products as part of a crackdown on the sale of counterfeit and pirated products.

The Justice Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency timed the seizures with the start of the post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping season, shutting down websites late last week that were selling a diverse set of goods such as handbags, scarves, golf gear, rap music and popular movie DVDs.

US officials announced the sweep in Washington on Cyber Monday, the online retail equivalent to Black Friday. "If the deal looks too good to be true it probably is," Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Consumers are being cheated with cheaply made knock-offs, authorities said, noting that 77 of the sites seized under court order were selling fraudulent products mostly made in China. Five sites seized were peddling copyrighted media.

The website domain names were home to websites in nine states and the District of Columbia.

Read more: Wall Street Journal