US seizes 132 domain names to stop knockoff sales

BUFFALO, New York (AP) - More than 100 domain names were seized in an international crackdown on websites that sell counterfeit merchandise, US federal authorities said on Monday, just in time for the biggest US online shopping day of the year.

It was the third consecutive Cyber Monday that websites selling knockoff sports jerseys, DVDs, cologne and other goods were blocked from doing business. This year, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations coordinated the 132-site effort with Europol and police in Belgium, Denmark, France, Romania and the United Kingdom.

"This is not an American problem, it is a global one, and it is a fight we must win," ICE Director John Morton said in a statement.

At a news conference in Buffalo, investigators displayed tables full of knockoff Buffalo Bills jerseys, cologne and baseball caps purportedly made by Buffalo-based New Era Cap Co., all of which they had ordered online from mostly legitimate-looking websites with addresses such as newerasonlineshop.com.