US authorities have seized the domain names of 150 websites accused of selling counterfeit goods as a part of a crackdown on retailers violating intellectual property laws.
The law enforcement agencies announced the seizures on Cyber Monday online shopping day.
The investigation dubbed Operation In Our Sites saw officials from Homeland Security Investigations, the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, the Department of Justice and the FBI Washington Field Office.
The visitors of these websites, which were selling fake goods, will see a banner saying authorities have taken over the websites.
According to John Morton director of US immigration and customs enforcement, for these criminals, it’s the season to lure in unsuspecting holiday shoppers. He added that the "vast majority" of the targeted websites operate from outside the US and the merchandise is "predominantly from China."
The domain names seized include discount-uggboots-sale.com, louisvuitton-bags-forcheap.com, officialpumashop.com, reeboksite.com, among others.
