7 On Your Side: Counterfeit Cords

It was caused by a poorly-designed extension cord.  One you may have in your own home.

"A lot of times people just don't realize, and that includes the vendors that often sell them," said Brett Brenner, president of the non-profit Electrical Safety Foundation International.

ESFI commissioned an independent test to show just how danergous counterfeit extension cords can be. In minutes, an iron, a hari dryer, and a toaster all went up in flames.

"You can purchase a counterfeit watch or a purse, but with electrical products, these products can kill you," said Brenner.

"Counterfeit" because many carry fake UL seals, the sign that a product is safe for household use. Brenner showed us the difference between a legitimate cord and a fake.

"In my left hand is the legitimate product," he said, holding two cords that were cut open. "You can see how much copper is actually in that product. In my right hand, you'll see the counterfeit product, and you'll see the difference in copper."

The cord in his right hand had much less copper inside.

Other telltale signs:
- No brand name listed on the product
- No barcode
- No warranty information
- No address or customer service phone number

Brenner had another suggestion too.

"Look at the packaging; make sure there are no spacing or spelling errors," he said. "Thats one big thing."

The biggest giveaway, though, is the "feel test." Experts say a safe cord should feel thick and sturdy. A dangerous one is typically thin and flimsy. Flimsy cords usually have less copper inside. Less copper means less ability to handle an electrical load, and more chance of overheating, melting, and catching fire.

"It's a little bit scary, yes," said Mark Edge with Professional Testing Inc, a Round Rock lab that tests the electrical safety of consumer products. "You're looking for a bargain and, I guess, you're not getting what you want for that bargain."

7 On Your Side wanted to see just how easy it is to find potentially dangerous items. We visited four discount stores, and looked for cords with no brand name, flimsy construction, or a suspicious-looking UL seal.

We then took our items to Professional Testing. They tested six different cords. One item -- a 20-foot cord provided to us by ESFI as an example of a bad cord -- was so dangerous, it even surprised our experts.

"How hot it got, and how fast it got, was really surprising," said Edge.

Running 16 amps of current through the cord, in just three minutes, it rose to 130 degrees Celsius.

"That's hotter than boiling water," said Jason Anderson with Professional Testing.

According to our testers, that's three times hotter than the safe temperature range: 25 to 50 degrees Celsius.

"That's hot," said Anderson. "And then you've got children in your house. You've got people wlking in your house barefooted. That will burn somebody."

So hot, it can melt away the rubber insulation, exposing live wires.

"So you could grab it and become electrocuted," said Edge.

Professional Testing looked at five other cords, too. Three were deemed safe; one was considered borderline hazardous. Our last item, a red extension cord, got dangerously hot.

"It didn't get quite as hot [as the first item], but still in excess of the ratings on the insulation," said Edge.

After our test, we went back to One Dollar Deals on East Riverside, the store that sold us the red extension cord that overheated. The store was suprised at our findings, and promised quick action.

Reporter: "Do you continue to plan on selling these, now that we brought this to your attention?"
Store Worker: "No, no. We'll discontinue it immediately."

The cord in question had a safety seal, but UL records show no listing for the company. One Dollar Deals' owner said, he assumed that if it had a seal, it must be safe.

Port officials are often fooled too. Experts say many counterfeit cords arrive from overseas with forged UL holograms.

"Often times, much like the retailers, port officials see something with the UL mark or a different certification mark, and they assume it's a safe product," said ESFI's Brenner.

UL is now training port inspectors on new scanners, designed to detect counterfeit holograms -- even inside shipping packages.

"A lot of these devices are just brought over, and they're just trying to make a quick buck," said Brenner. "A lot of times, the people who make them don't really care about safety."

The Electrical Safety Foundation said larger chains like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Family Dollar are usually a safe bet. All have extra quality control measures to weed out counterfeit and unsafe cords.