Apple iPhone users are being urged to check their chargers.
UK iPhone users have been issued with an urgent alert and ignoring it could put fans of these devices at serious risk. The warning has come from the team at Electrical Safety First (ESF) who say they are concerned by the rise in fake chargers that appear to be flooding the market.
What makes this alert more serious is that many of these power packs are being stuffed with metal weights to appear more genuine.
In the past, it’s been quite easy to tell if a plug was fake due to its heaviness. Apple’s official accessories are almost always more weighty due to the premium materials used to make them. Counterfeit plugs don’t have the same build quality, but it seems crooks are now using a sneaky trick to convince consumers that their knock-off chargers are the real deal.
Although a weight being added might not seem that worrying, it can be extremely dangerous.
“Within a genuine adapter there is sufficient separation between internal components to ensure that the incoming 240 volts from the mains electricity supply does not come into contact with the USB output connector, the end used to charge your device,” Electrical Safety First explained.
The investigation from ESF found these metal weights seriously compromised that electrical separation, meaning the unsuspecting user is at risk of coming into contact with a very harmful level of voltage. That could getting a nasty shock.
Of 22 samples of the 116 that underwent further internal investigation 68% were found to have metal weights inside. These metal weights also presented a risk of short-circuiting the device and increasing the risk of fire.
“Often with counterfeits and substandard lookalikes the dangers are entirely hidden within the plastic mould of the adapter, so consumers are none the wiser as to how little care has been given to manufacturing the device. It is not uncommon for substandard or fake devices to be used unknowingly by consumers until they either stop working or worse, cause an incident such as an electric shock or fire,” Electrical Safety First’s Luke Osborne adds.
Although they are a lot cheaper, buying a fake adapter is a bad idea.
If you are worried, it’s a good idea to only opt for accessories from Apple or one of the recommended third-party suppliers, such as Belkin or Anker.
In response to the news from Electrical Safety First, Apple said: “The safety of our customers is our first priority, and the risks associated with counterfeit products can be very serious.
“We have a dedicated team of experts constantly working with law enforcement, merchants, social media companies and e-commerce sites around the world to stop the manufacture, distribution and sale of counterfeit products.
“Every year, we remove more than one million listings for counterfeit and fake Apple products from online marketplaces. To make sure you’re purchasing a genuine product, we recommend buying directly from Apple or an Apple authorised distributor.”
How to spot a fake Apple power adapter:
Plug pins: Plug pin finish and its material is another obvious indicator that the product is either counterfeit or substandard. The finish on the plug pins on a genuine charger is high quality, matt, and uniform. On counterfeit adapters, the finish is usually glossy or shiny with surface imperfections.
Text and markings: Look out for poor-quality markings and spelling mistakes. Genuine Apple adapters have a solid Apple logo and well-defined wording. Genuine Apple markings are clean and legible. Many of the counterfeit and lookalike models inspected had poor or ill-defined logos and markings.
Online listings: Sellers of legitimate branded goods don’t need to over emphasise that the product is genuine. Online listings that overstate the authenticity of a product should be approached with caution.