CULVER CITY, Calif. — The Super Bowl is just days away with the Rams and Bengals facing off at SoFi Stadium and fans are pouring into Los Angeles to watch the historic game.

For Customs and Border Protection officials, there is a different battle happening off the field against counterfeit NFL goods.

In the run up to the game, CBP has ramped up measures at LAX working to intercept jerseys, hats and illegal NFL merchandise. At a news conference on Friday the Director of Field Operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Carlos Martel, warned consumers about counterfeits that are likely to pop up around the city prior to the Super Bowl.

“Before you buy something, know who you are buying from. Buy from legitimate sources. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” he said.

CBP has increased security and is checking cargo-shipping containers that arrive at the airport, particularly from countries where counterfeit goods are typically made.

“Counterfeiters are doing nothing more than deceiving and exploiting fan enthusiasm by sending low-quality fake goods to them,” Martel said.

CBP officials also emphasized that illegal goods take away revenue from stores selling official NFL products.

There are several locations to purchase authentic NFL goods, such as the Lids store at the Westfield Culver City mall.

Lids district sales manager, Adriana Guzman, was coordinating their extensive NFL Super Bowl set up inside the Macy’s at the mall.

“All official NFL products have an NFL hologram logo. It means its authentic merchandise. It means it was approved and verified,” she said.

In 2021, homeland security seized over $45 million worth of counterfeit products relating to sports events. But Guzman said beyond the financial impact, fake goods can affect individual health.

“Buying stuff that’s not authentic it can have material that you could be allergic to. You don’t know what the ethics are — where it’s being made,” she said.

Nancy Casavis was visiting the Lids store looking for Super Bowl merchandise to send back home to New York.

Casavis is attending the Super Bowl game and said buying jerseys, hats and shirts from a store partnering with the NFL was important.  

“When it comes to an event like this, I always choose official stores. You want the real deal, you don’t want to support counterfeits, even though NFL has a lot of money, you want to do the right thing,” she said.

She compared buying counterfeit goods to illegally streaming music, “you want to support the artist,” she said.

A loyal Rams fan, Josh Peas, was shopping at the Lids store on Friday morning, specifically looking for a Cooper Kupp jersey. Peas said he appreciates everyone is trying to make ends meet, “I support the hustlers,” he said.

When it comes to his Kupp jersey, he wants it to be the real deal.

“All my jerseys are, they just fit better. It feels like I’m on the field, almost,” he said.

Plus, he said, buying the official products helps him feel closer to the team he supports.

“I want to look down at the field and say, this guy has the same jersey as me. Same stitching, same number, same everything.”