Think you’re buying a real Apple product on Amazon? Think again

Ordering an Apple product from Amazon? You may want to double check its authenticity. According to a new lawsuit from the iEmpire, a whopping 90 percent of the products sold by Amazon and purporting to be genuine Apple products are anything but. The lawsuit states, “Over the last nine months, Apple, as part of its ongoing brand protection efforts, has purchased well over 100 iPhone devices, Apple power products, and Lightning cables sold as genuine by sellers on Amazon.com and delivered through Amazon’s ‘Fulfillment by Amazon’ program. Apple’s internal examination and testing for these products revealed almost 90 percent of these products are counterfeit.”

Yikes.

Perhaps the most alarming aspect of the new lawsuit is that the products in question weren’t being sold by a third-party Marketplace vendor, but rather by Amazon itself. That said, the lawsuit points out, “Amazon.com informed Apple that Mobile Star was its source for the majority of these counterfeit Apple products,” which is why Apple is suing Mobile Star LLC, and not Amazon.

It’s not just a matter of taking credit where credit isn’t due, though. Apple claims in its lawsuit, “Counterfeit power products, such as those supplied by Mobile Star, pose an immediate threat to consumer safety because, unlike genuine Apple products, they are not subjected to industry-standard consumer safety testing and are poorly constructed with inferior or missing components, flawed design, and inadequate electrical insulation. These counterfeits have the potential to overheat, catch fire, and deliver a deadly electric shock to consumers while in normal use.” And the last thing we need these days is more electronics catching on fire.

So just play it safe, friends, and when looking for an Apple product, go straight to the source. Because sometimes, saving those extra few dollars on Amazon just isn’t worth it.