BE CAREFUL when buying fake accessories such as phone batteries and MP3 player earphones online, as safety could be an issue, warn consumer electronics giants such as Motorola.
According to Motorola spokesman Lena Goh, consumer safety is an issue since the fakes are typically made under less stringent conditions. For instance, manufacturers of counterfeits may not include safety devices that stop batteries from over-charging, as a cost-saving measure, The Straits Times reported.
But the discounts are far too attractive to ignore, for some.
Those peddling counterfeits, said Ms Goh, are typically drawn by the good margins - 400 per cent in some cases .
To lend credence to their products, many sellers claim that their goods are originals, just excess "factory over-runs" and as such are being sold off at a steep discount. Motorola's Ms Goh said:
