(KAIR)--A shipment of counterfeit, championship sports rings, including the Kansas City Royals, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Kansas Jayhawks, were seized by authorities as they were on track from Hong Kong to a residence in Atchison.

A release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection says agency "officers in Cincinnati recently seized a shipment containing 90 fake Kansas championship rings bearing the registered trademarks of the National Football League, National Collegiate Athletic Association and Major League Baseball," explaining that inside the March 21 intercepted parcel were "40 2019 Kansas City Chief Super Bowl rings, 20 1969 Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Rings, 15 1985 Kansas City Royals rings, and 15 2022 Kansas Jayhawks championship rings."

According to the release, the seized rings were sent to an Import Specialist who "noticed the rings were poor quality, had inferior packaging, a low declared value, were inaccurately declared, and lacked security features." Had the merchandise been deemed authentic, the genuine rings would carry a value of $2.71 million.

Originating in Hong Kong, the shipment was being sent to an Atchison residence in what the release says "appeared to be a person-to-person transaction, which is a common tactic used by counterfeiters" which "involves sending a shipment to one person" who "will then mail smaller addressed and prepackaged parcels concealed inside this larger shipment" with the person then paying "for shipping to the U.S. address, thus bypassing further scrutiny."

The customs agency reminds consumers to stay safe when making such purchases online, and offers ways to keep from getting ripped off, including purchasing goods directly from the trademark holder or from authorized retailers; review Custom's E-Commerce Counterfeit Awareness Guide for Consumers; and to remember that if a price seems to good to be true, it probably is.