Shoppers say fake Fingerlings were sold through big sites

NEW YORK – Shoppers rushing to find Fingerlings, the robotic monkeys that are one of the holiday season’s hottest toys and already hard to find, say they’ve been fooled into buying fakes.

The real Fingerlings, 6-inch multicolored monkeys, wrap around a finger, move, and make sounds. They usually sell for about $15 but are sold out at many stores and websites. And counterfeiters are taking advantage of the shortage — selling fakes using the Amazon and Walmart.com platforms.

Through the sites’ third-party marketplaces, the fraudsters post items for sale using pictures that look like authentic Fingerlings. And they seem to be succeeding: Postings for phoney Fingerlings were on Amazon’s bestselling toys list several times in the last two weeks.

Amazon and Walmart say they are shutting down counterfeiters and giving customers refunds.