A local woman's business was shut down after she was allegedly selling counterfeits at a local mall in March, and TARGET9 decided to look into the counterfeit industry and help you figure out what is real and what is fake.

TARGET9 crews traveled to a warehouse in Cleveland, where there were thousands of counterfeit goods, everything from handbags and sunglasses to clothing and jewelry.

"Million-dollar industries that work in the U.S. are being put out of work because of counterfeiting," said Tim Richissin, an investigator for the Trademark Enforcement Agency.

Richissin’s team goes on dozens of raids a year and recently made a bust in the valley.

In March, it raided a kiosk at the Ohio Valley Mall, where they said a woman was selling fake handbags and jewelry.

"With law enforcement that was there, we basically shut her down," said Richissin.

Richissin told TARGET9 that counterfeiting not only kills honest businesses and the economy, it is dangerous because most fake goods are made overseas, with chemicals and dyes that are unsafe.

“In this particular bag, a petroleum-based product is used, and it's very flammable, and we've found, when this is near an open flame, it just goes up," said Richissin.

So, how can you tell if you what you buy is real or fake?

Richissin gives the following tips: Check the retailer, look at the overall quality, and examine the packaging.

"Where you're buying it from is a big sign of where it's at,” said Richissin. “In most cases, you can go online and see where an authorized retailer of a product is."

“Look at the quality of the zippers and the quality of the inside of the lining.”

"Look at the packaging that's inside the purse, as most of them should come with a big cover."

All of the fakes that the Trademark Enforcement Agency confiscates go into an incinerator.

"We destroy the property because of the fact that we don't know what's safe and unsafe," said Richissin.

While people who seize the property destroy it, there's still a lot left out there.

So, before your next buy, Richissin wants you, the consumer, to ask yourself: "Are businesses and families being hurt because I'm buying these items? Think of the big picture when you're doing it."

Natalie Pasquarella, TARGET9