Most of the Apple power accessories being sold on Amazon are not real. According to a legal document from the Cupertino-based giant obtained by Patently Apple, it appears as though 90% of Apple power accessories, such as cables and chargers, being sold on Amazon are fake.
Amazon selling fake Apple accessories
In the legal document, Apple claims that it purchased more than 100 power products, Lightning cables and iPhone devices advertised as being its products from the online retailer but discovered that 90% were fake. The Silicon Valley giant claims that counterfeit power accessories can lead to property damage and even bodily harm, apart from not working as well as the genuine products.
“Apple makes great efforts to combat the distribution and sale of counterfeit Apple products bearing its trademarks,” the suit reads. “Despite Apple’s efforts, fake Apple products continue to flood Amazon.com.”
In the document, the tech giant says that often, the counterfeit accessories are built poorly with inferior and even missing parts. The smartphone maker said they do not go through industry-standard safety tests. As a result, fake products risk sending “deadly” electric shocks to users or catching fire during normal usage.
Product looks almost authentic
The Amazon listings for the power accessories claimed that the products were authentic. The listings used Apple’s product images and trademarks to make the products appear authentic, according to the lawsuit. The online retailer said Mobile Star was the source of the “majority” of the products which the iPhone maker purchased. Thus, the iPhone maker is suing Amazon supplier Mobile Star over the matter, accusing it of selling counterfeit Apple power accessories. The tech giant seeks around $2 million per trademark infringement and $150,000 per copyright violation.
As the listings can look legitimate, as if they are from the iPhone maker itself, it is tough to say which products available on Amazon are genuine and which are fake. We can, however, say that if a product is too cheap to be true, then it has more chances of being poorly made or counterfeit. In addition, one can check out the reviews on Amazon.
Amazon told Business Insider that it has “zero tolerance for the sale of counterfeits on our site. We work closely with manufacturers and brands and pursue wrongdoers aggressively.” Mobile Star’s website does not list Apple as a “supported partner,” but it does include the logo of headphone maker Beats, notes CNET. Beats was bought by the tech giant in 2014 for $3 billion.