Apple finds 90% of its chargers and cables on Amazon are fake

Applesays it has been buying Apple chargers and cables labelled as genuine on Amazon.com and has found nearly 90 percent of them to be counterfeit.

The revelation comes in a federal lawsuit filed by Apple against a New Jersey company on Monday over what Apple says are counterfeit products that were sold on Amazon.

In the lawsuit, Apple says Mobile Star imprinted Apple logos on cables and chargers that "pose a significant risk of overheating, fire, and electrical shock." It says the chargers and cables were being sold on Amazon as genuine Apple products


Amazon isn't named in the suit, but said in a statement that it has "zero tolerance" for counterfeiters on its site and that it pursues "wrongdoers" aggressively. Mobile Star didn't return a voicemail seeking comment.

Apple has long had to battle with the problem of counterfeit products, most notably in China, where dozens of fake Apple stores sprung up. Many of the stores look just like Apple's signature outlets, right down to the sales staff kitted out in blue T-shirts bearing the company's white logo and the sample iPads and iWatches displayed on sleek wooden tables


2013, the company advised anyone worried their USB charger might be a counterfeit to take it into an Apple store and have it replaced by one made by the company.  It followed reports that a Chinese woman was electrocuted when she picked up a call on an iPhone 5 as it was charging.

However, there have also been similar cases in Britain. Two years ago, the London Fire Brigade warned of fake iPhone chargers on sale in markets and online that could cause fires, electrocutions or burns. One  such device  caught fire and set alight to a house in Tottenham.