Fake Apple chargers may be cheaper than the original ones, but the lower cost is not really worth damaging your device.
According to new research, a whopping 99 percent of fake Apple chargers available for purchase online fail a basic safety test.
Fake Apple Chargers Sold Online
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute from the UK commissioned a series of tests to determine how safe fake Apple chargers are, and the results are alarming. Global safety specialist UL, based in the United States, conducted the insulation tests on chargers purchased online from eight different countries, including China, the United States and Australia.
The insulation tests applied a high voltage to the fake Apple chargers and only three chargers out of 400 proved to have sufficient insulation to offer protection against electrical shocks.
"During a recent operation investigators bought 400 counterfeit Apple chargers from suppliers around the world, online, and found that 397 of them failed a basic safety test," the CTSI reports.
Be Careful What You Buy
Counterfeit Apple chargers may be significantly cheaper than original ones, but they pose great risks and may end up damaging your device and your home, and even cause physical injuries.
It's highly advised to buy electrical products, be they chargers or other items, only from trusted suppliers that offer quality goods.
Fake goods sold online are becoming an increasingly alarming issue and even though retailers such as Amazon are making efforts to crack down on counterfeit products, it's hard to keep up.
Apple itself warned back in October that 90 percent of the Apple chargers sold on Amazon are fake, urging users to think twice before making a purchase.
How To Distinguish Counterfeit Products From Real Ones
Fake electrical products are usually poor quality and unsafe, but it can be tough sometimes to distinguish which products are real and which are counterfeit. To spot the fake ones, it's recommended to look for tell-tale signs such as slightly different logos or brand names, misspellings, or missing/different safety marks.
The CTSI advises customers to check products for regulation markings, pin size, warnings, instructions and any other details that may betray their origin.
At the same time, be careful not to overcharge devices. Don't cover them when charging and never use a charger with a damaged cable or case.
Lastly, if the price sounds too good to be true and it's much lower than what the charger usually retails for, it's best to steer clear because it's most likely a counterfeit product. The importance of buying only from trusted suppliers cannot be stressed enough.
