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Archive for the ‘Caveat Emptor’ Category

Buyer Beware – COUNTERFEIT Blue Force Gear Slings Showing Up Online

Tuesday, March 9th, 2021

BFG has received multiple reports of counterfeit Vickers Combat Applications Slings being sold online.

Savannah, GA – CAVEAT EMPTOR! They say “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, stealing our designs with counterfeit copies isn’t flattery. It’s a crime. In the past several weeks, Blue Force Gear® customer service has received a number of calls from individuals regarding issues with weapons slings that they purchased online. These slings were purchased primarily through Amazon. A review of the slings has revealed that every single one of them are cheap counterfeit copies of the patented BFG Vickers Combat Applications SlingTM (VCAS). These slings were labeled and marketed as being authentic BFG products to include copies of our labels and packaging.

More important to BFG than the legal issues with patent and trademark infringement, or the lost revenue to our American based company, are the disturbing reports of the products failing customers.  BFG, and each of its employees, is proud that our products are utilized daily by military, first responders and prepared citizens worldwide.  The idea that a mission could fail or that someone could be injured because of an inferior counterfeit product causes us great concern.

While the counterfeit slings LOOK like our product, a careful examination reveals vastly inferior quality of webbing, hardware, construction methods and other issues. We are choosing to not be more specific regarding the glaring issues with these slings as we don’t want to assist these thieves in their continuing criminal enterprise to steal our intellectual property and mislead our loyal and deserving customers.

BFG wants you to be aware that there are counterfeit products being marketed and that the best way to avoid them is to always buy from an authorized BFG reseller or direct from Blue Force Gear through our website or company store.  If you have questions regarding the identity of authorized resellers or concerns regarding a product, please contact our customer service representatives for guidance or go to www.blueforcegear.com/verified-bfg to report a suspected fake product.

www.blueforcegear.com , sales@blueforcegear.com , 877-430-2583

At Blue Force Gear, we strive to be “Always Better”TM.

The people stealing from you? Not so much.

Caveat Emptor – Counterfeit Dead Air Silencers Flash Hiders

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020

Dead Air Silencers has issued the following warning:

ATTENTION: There is a resurrection of counterfeit Dead Air muzzle devices on the market claiming to work with the Sandman family and KeyMo compatible silencers. These muzzle devices are NOT licensed or tested by Dead Air Armament and may cause injury or death if used with Dead Air products. Plus, if you use them you’ll lose the awesome warranty we have. The connection between the muzzle device and KeyMo is a hypercritical component, for both efficiency and safety. Because of this, there’s a lot that goes into vetting a third party manufacturer. As of right now, the ONLY licensed third party manufacturers of Dead Air muzzle devices are:

• Sons of Liberty

• JMAC

• Lantac

• Forward Controls Design

Run away from all others.

Caveat Emptor – CDC Warns of Counterfeit PPE

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

Counterfeit items are always out there, but during a pandemic, with demand so high for Personal Protective Equipment by government and individuals alike, they are particularly reprehensible.

The Center for Disease Control has created an online resource to help you identify counterfeits and genuine items. Remember, NIOSH approves medical PPE.

Here’s just one example of a counterfeit product currently on the market.

Make sure you are buying genuine products that will actually provide the protection you demand.?. Visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/usernotices/counterfeitResp for full details, more examples of counterfeit items, and link to a list of approved manufacturers.

Malicious Actor Targeting Private Vendors Through GSA STARS II by E-Mail Spoofing  

Sunday, June 24th, 2018

This is an advisory sent out by the Defense Logistics Agency. We share it verbatim.

A fake solicitation purporting to be from Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for a “REQUEST FOR QUOTATION” has been targeting GSA STARS II vendors in the public sector.

The e-mails are not from DLA.MIL – The e-mail may appear to be from DLA on first glance; however, the “Reply-To” address of the fake e-mails ends with a “@dla-mil.us” extension. In some cases, “stars2@americanconsultants.com” has been identified to supposedly send messages on behalf of a DLA Contract Specialist – these are also fake.

Some e-mails suggest the companies use the “stars2” Google Group “https://groups.google.com/a/americanconsultants.com” for more information or to unsubscribe from the e-mail communication. The “stars2” group is NOT a DLA affiliated group.

To view full details of the notice along with visual examples, please go to: www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/InformationOperations

In closing, please remain vigilant and be cautious when opening attachments. The specific e-mail attachment was not identified to contain malware, but the financial risks are high if the scammer is able to get a company to send them a virtual grocery list of technical items. Be sure to contact your typical DoD point of contact when engaging business to ensure the best possible communication and safety. Questions or comments can be directed to the DLA CERT’s Fusion Cell: CERTFusionCell@DLA.MIL.






Caveat Emptor – Counterfeit Tactical Augmented Pressure Switch Identified

Monday, October 30th, 2017

TNVC notified us that a counterfeit version of their joint venture with Unity Tactical, the Tactical Augmented Pressure Switch has been identified, along with this note.

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PSA: We have been made aware of an unlicensed copy of TAPS, made by a Hong Kong Airsoft company. The maker of these copies has since ceased, but we do not know how many were sold. These copies look almost identical except the logos are different and the contact leads are not standard. The laser lead on the fake will not fit standard US lasers. Just want to let you guys know about these so you don’t accidentally buy one on ebay and find out the hard way that it doesn’t work. here’s some pics of the fakes:

Always ensure you purchase your equipment from authorized dealers.






Caveat Emptor – Counterfeit Tourniquets Remain An Issue

Monday, March 27th, 2017

We first mentioned counterfeit Combat Application Tourniquets back in 2010, and they had already been a problem for awhile. Recently, there has been a rash of these fake products showing up in various supply chains of law enforcement and first responder agencies. For example, this clinical bulletin was issued a few years ago by the New Hampshire Department of Safety.

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Our friends at CTOMS conducted three tests in which they self-applied two counterfeit Combat Application Tourniquet (E-CAT or Element CAT) and one real C-A-T to a healthy thigh. Continuous Doppler ultrasound was conducted to assess the distal pulse. Tourniquets were tightened until failure or it was too painful to continue to tighten.

While this video is a few years old, it demonstrates how dangerous counterfeit tourniquets are.

According to North American Rescue, they’ve identified six different counterfeit CATs. While this link offers a great comparison between a genuine CAT and a counterfeit, the simplest thing to check is the windlass. If it isn’t stiff, ask for a real one.

The bottom line is, buy your tourniquets from approved sources. The buck you save, may cost a life.






Revision Counterfeit Eyepro Sting

Monday, February 1st, 2016

ARREST MADE IN REVISION-AIDED STING OPERATION AGAINST CHINESE COUNTERFEIT BALLISTIC EYEWEAR

Denver, Colorado (February 1, 2016) – Revision Military, a world leader in integrated, purpose-built soldier solutions, aided a sting operation to arrest owners and representatives of a Chinese company illegally manufacturing and selling counterfeit eyewear. Revision worked in conjunction with the Dearborn and Ohio County Prosecutor’s Office in Indiana to execute this action. The operation was carried out on January 28th at the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show in Denver, Colorado. Guangzhou Botai Optical Visor Co., Ltd. (“Guangzhou Botai”) U.S. representative and part owner, Gong Peiwen, also known as Daniel Gong, was arrested on the showroom floor. Arrest warrants have also been issued for brothers Jiang Xingde and Jiang Xinglin, co-owners of Guangzhou Botai, and Ding Xiaoxia, also known as Crystal Ding, Sales Associate for Guangzhou Botai, which is based in Guangzhou, China. The four are facing six felony charges: counterfeiting, theft, corrupt business practices, conspiracy to commit counterfeiting, conspiracy to commit theft, and conspiracy to commit corrupt business practices. These charges are being brought in Indiana.

Guangzhou Botai has been producing unauthorized counterfeit versions of Revision Military’s Desert Locust™ goggle. Additionally, these fake products have been distributed under the pretense of providing military-grade ballistic protection which presents a hazard to the safety of users expecting the high level eye protection of authentic Revision products. After extensive investigation of the company and testing of the counterfeit products it produces, conclusions showed none of the established industry standards for optical or ballistic quality were met by these unauthorized product knockoffs.  

“We were alarmed to learn of these counterfeit products,” said Jonathan Blanshay, CEO of Revision Military, “our customers expect only the best quality and performance from our products. We take pride in exceeding the highest specifications for optics and ballistic impact protection and have invested huge amounts of money to create the best possible protective products. We have built our name and reputation on exceeding standards and will not tolerate inferior, non-authorized knockoff products in the marketplace.”

Mr. Blanshay reiterated that, when it comes to customers being victimized by inferior forgeries, Revision has a zero tolerance approach, stating, “the Revision brand signifies integrity and elite performance. Fraudulent products undermine our core mission to protect the troops who protect all of us. We are taking this matter very seriously and will do everything in our power to ensure that any individuals or corporate entities involved in an illicit enterprise that threatens Revision’s customers and the Revision reputation are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Our mission is to provide the very best protection to soldiers and we will fight to prevent any undermining of that promise to global warfighters.”

Revision Military maintains all intellectual property rights on all Revision products – rights that are total and international. This includes the distinctive Desert Locust goggle, Revision’s flagship goggle line first launched in 2006 that has proven immensely popular and highly regarded for its superior ballistic protection, craft, and comfort. Revision’s products are designed, manufactured, and tested in-house at state-of-the-art, certified facilities. All of Revision’s protective eyewear has consistently and unequivocally exceeded global military-grade testing requirements and has been proven in action around the world.






More On Counterfeit Tourniquets From CTOMS

Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

CTOMS conducted three tests in which they self-applied two counterfeit Combat Application Tourniquet (E-CAT or Element CAT) and one real C-A-T to a healthy thigh. Continuous Doppler ultrasound was conducted to assess the distal pulse. Tourniquets were tightened until failure or it was too painful to continue to tighten.

While this video is two years old, it demonstrates how dangerous counterfeit tourniquets are. The bottom line is, buy your tourniquets from approved sources. The buck you save, may cost a life.