Unfortunately, counterfeit – and, relatedly, tampered – products have become an issue that many companies and consumers now face. Bad actors seek illegitimate profits by creating knockoffs of well-known, trusted and valuable brands. CGC is one of these targets, and we will take aggressive action to combat counterfeiters and other fraudsters, including through lawsuits, security enhancements and awareness campaigns. We cannot, however, provide compensation to people who purchase counterfeit or tampered products. This would, in effect, render the counterfeit or tampered products as valuable as the real deal, despite CGC having absolutely no involvement in their production.
The 350 books identified by CGC on 1/3/24 are in a different category because they were submitted to CGC for reholder after being tampered with, and we did not detect the tampering at the time.
We still want to know about other counterfeit or tampered with CGC holders because we will aggressively pursue these bad actors to the fullest extent of the law. We are committed to taking the appropriate steps to prevent counterfeiting (and tampering), and we will take legal action against those who attempt it.
CCG strongly advises prospective buyers to do their research and buy from reputable sources. CGC offers the free Verify CGC Certification tool on its websites to help collectors and dealers verify CGC-certified collectibles. In addition, collectors can use the CGC Dealer Locator to find CGC Authorized Dealers.