Playing With Fire - Britain Seizes Dangerous DS Knock-Offs

British customs officials issued a pre-Christmas warning on Friday after seizing fake Nintendo game consoles with potentially dangerous power adapters.

The knock-off replicas of the DS and DS Lite, complete with Nintendo insignia, were bought off of websites mainly based in Asia. They typically cost half as much as the real deal. Pamela Rogers of HM Revenue and customs said the fakes had faulty power adapters that "could have caused serious harm or injury" sadly even on "Christmas morning."

Mike Rawlinson, managing director of Nintendo's fraud investigation company ELSPA, cautioned parents to be "diligent" and shy from bargains "too good to be true."

"You might find you plug it in and the adaptor sets on fire or the wires start to melt and stick out," said HMRC spokesperson Clare Merrills. "When you buy these goods, you're not funding our economy, you're actually funding criminals in these far off places and it could be linked to terrorism," she added.

Source: Reuters

Share on Twitter or Facebook

Comments