In the age of counterfeit handbags, sunglasses, shoes and DVDs, a new frontier in replication has emerged— counterfeit electrical products. But, the embarrassment of being caught with a knock-off handbag or watch pales to the serious threat of being caught with counterfeit electrical products.

In fact, these counterfeits could pose deadly and damaging fire threats to your plant, business, and facility, and to your workers.

Electrical products that may not meet standards include: control relays, circuit breakers, receptacles, ground fault circuit interrupters and conduit fittings, extension cords and power breakers. Even batteries are being produced by counterfeiters.

These substandard items can cause fires, explosions, shocks and electrocutions. With the recent hardship of these economic times, there is certainly a market for them, but plant managers and workers should be mindful of their existence and remember their use can lead to trouble.

Unfortunately, unlike other knock-offs, counterfeit electrical products are harder to recognize. In fact, most products appear to be genuine, but do not meet safety standards. Counterfeiter’s may take time to reproduce an almost flawless outside appearance that matches legitimate products, but use inferior materials overall, materials that do not pass certification testing from organizations like Underwriters Laboratories (UL).

According to U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection (CBP) Seizure Report 2008, counterfeit electrical products ranked fifth on the list of seizures, representing 8 percent of the top five safety and security commodities seized. The report values these items at about $23 million.

Batteries alone counted for three percent with a value of $1.8 million. Eighty-one percent of these products come from China, according to the CBP report. Since 2007 the seizures of electrical products increased by 43 percent. CBP and CPSC are working together with legitimate manufacturers and certification labs to identify products at U.S. ports to attempt to reduce the number of imports from finding their way into our hands.

Counterfeit product manufacturers rely on prices below market level and the attractiveness of these lower prices aid these products in finding their way into businesses and electrical systems throughout the country. But the financial liability for any incident would be tremendous with the financial burden falling on the shoulders of anyone who participated either knowingly or unknowingly in the use of these goods.

In 2007 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled more than one million counterfeit electrical products. During the same year, CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord, said the agency was very concerned about unsafe electrical products. “Our priority is to keep consumers safe by preventing potentially dangerous counterfeit products from getting into the marketplace in the first place,” she said. As previously stated, counterfeit electrical products can appear to be genuine, but they do not meet safety standards.

Counterfeiters have little regard for safety standards and use inferior components in their products. These non-legitimate manufactures will target well known brands and copy logos and trademarks that can resemble their genuine counterparts. Knock-offs continually fail independent testing and certification. Unfortunately, counterfeiters continue to redefine their products to make them visually harder to detect.

However, most of these products have out-of-date product codes and packaging.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and its members are also working to train port authorities and other officials about counterfeit electrical products. Companies and organizations like Eaton Corp. are also working with Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), NEMA and UL to educate boarder officials on what to look for when products are suspected of being counterfeit.

During Eaton’s Anti-Counterfeiting Webcast in October, Brett Brenner, ESFI president, said education, training and awareness are tactics we can take to prevent these products from finding their way into our hands.

“The industry itself needs to protect one another,” he said. “Facilitating education and awareness are ways to protect the supply chain.”

Brenner also said that safety officials and legitimate manufactures’ are starting to make headway with this problem. “We’ve made a dent, which is nice. We’re starting to push back,” he said.

Facts About Counterfeit Electrical Products

- Counterfeit electrical products are usually sold by unauthorized vendors, who have no relationship with real manufacturers.

- Sixty-four percent of counterfeit electrical products are purchased by legitimate businesses and sellers.

- Over a million counterfeit electrical products have been recalled due to safety issues.

- Sixty percent of Americans said in a survey conducted by the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) they could tell the difference between a counterfeit and an original product.

How to Avoid Counterfeits

Established Vendors/Authorized Sellers: Make sure to purchase electrical products from known authorized retail establishments and vendors. Avoid making purchases from deep discount stores, flea markets, bargain warehouses and unauthorized vendors.

Use Extreme Caution for On-line Purchases: Always research on-line retailers and use extreme caution when purchasing from sellers based abroad, especially from places like China where the majority of counterfeit products originate.

Check Certification and Trade Marks on Labels: Legitimate electrical products sold in the United States should be certified by nationally recognized safety testing organizations such as: UL, CSA or ETL-SEMKO. Trademarked logos if they look different and unusual from what you’ve seen in the past usually signal a counterfeit.

Also, beware holograms are also now being replicated, so check for those as well.

Scrutinize Labels and Packaging: Check for errors on warning labels, make sure they are free of grammatical errors as well as containing information found on warning labels. Also, avoid any products with any brand labeling or manufacturer affiliation.

Most importantly it is best to always trust your instincts. If a deal sounds too good to be true; then nine times out of 10 it is, being prudent could save you from incidents in the end. And if you suspect your product might not be genuine, report it to safety officials. FSM

For more information on how to spot counterfeit items, visit http://www.ul.com/ global/eng/pages/offerings/services/programs/ anticounterfeitingoperations/fake/  or www.electrical-safety.org.