Christmas danger from fake games consoles

Fake games consoles and adaptors are potentially putting Christmas consumers' lives in danger, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) warned today.

Hundreds of imported counterfeit games consoles seized at UK freight depots were found to have been supplied with potentially dangerous power adaptors. The goods had been purchased from a range of websites, mainly based in Asia, which claimed the items were 'genuine Nintendo products'. Many of the consoles, which are fake versions of the popular Nintendo DS and DS Lite, had been bought for around £40 instead of the usual retail price of £100.

Nintendo confirmed that the Nintendo DS and DS lite consoles were counterfeit, and the power adaptors being supplied with the product were not Nintendo manufactured and were, in fact, potentially dangerous, as they had not been electronically tested.

HMRC's Head of Intellectual Property Rights, Pamela Rogers, said: "UK consumers must be vigilant when purchasing goods online. Buy from a reputable or regulated site and, if purchasing from outside the UK or a new website, research the site - check all the facts before you buy.

"At best, these consoles would have led to disappointment on Christmas morning; at worst, they could have caused serious harm or injury.

"Counterfeit goods also cause considerable damage to the UK economy by undermining genuine UK retailers and small businesses who are honest and abide by the rules."

Mike Rawlinson, managing director for Nintendo's fraud investigation company ELSPA, commented: "For the games industry, the issue of child safety and our ongoing commitment to ensure the best protection for children is always at the forefront of our minds. As a responsible industry we are also extremely committed to ending the damaging counterfeit games market, which not only defrauds UK tax payers with inferior products but in some cases actually puts children's lives at risk too. We are asking all concerned parents to be diligent - often when a bargain seems too good to be true it often is.

"We would also like to thank HMRC for their role in swiftly alerting all UK ports to be on their guard for similar counterfeit goods. This is an issue that affects all retail businesses, particularly at Christmas, and more needs to be done to work together to mitigate the risks posed by fake goods. We are also continuing to work very closely with Trading Standards on this important safety issue."