Chinenye Anuforo [email protected]
It’s no surprise that smartphones are now a huge area of interest for counterfeiting operations. With over 2.5 billion smartphone users across the globe, there is huge money to be made. And, as we are all connected, the dangers are more pronounced than ever.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reckons that, in 2017, 20 per cent of all mobile phones shipped internationally were fake. In 2012, a UAE telecoms operator banned over 18,000 devices from their network, citing fire hazards and leaking batteries. In Uganda, nine million phones were disabled in 2018, and it has been estimated that 40 per cent of all active phones in the country were fake prior to the ban.
Worldwide, it is estimated that counterfeits account for a loss of €45.3 billion in revenue, with 184 million fake smartphones sold each year.
Counterfeit phones are copies of popular brands and models made from sub-standard materials and are not licensed by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC).
Patrick Odita, a telecommunication consultant, said that fake cell phones exposes users to radio frequency radiations, which pose health hazards to the individual.
Apart from health issues, Odita said fake phones were responsible for some cases of poor reception, traffic jams on networks, dropped calls, as well as revenue loss on the part of telecom operators.
Dr. Alex Ukwuani, an ICT security expert, said fake phones have both safety and security perspectives.
“A criminal can use fake mobile phones to perpetuate crime and it would be difficult for security agencies to trace the culprit,” he said.
The NCC, recently, warned companies still flouting its regulation on type-approval for all telecom devices and equipment to stop forthwith, or face the negative consequences.
The NCC had previously shut down mobile phone vendors over distribution and sale of unapproved devices in the country.
Prof. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman, NCC, said that using non-type approved handsets and other devices has implications for quality of telecom services.
However, mobile benchmarking site, AnTuTu, released some statistics on the counterfeit scene in 2017 and discovered the most copied phone for that year was the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, with over 36 per cent of all counterfeit smartphones being Samsung copies.
In July 2018, Motherboard (the tech-focused wing of Vice.com) got their hands on a fake iPhone X, sourced from Shenzhen, China. For a tempting $100, the device certainly looked like the authentic version, but for 10 per cent of the cost.
However, for whatever reason you may be thinking about using a fake phones, it is important to understand the impact they have on the industry, the network you are connecting to, other users, and your health.
Health and safety
Before they can be sold in each market, all models of genuine phones are tested to ensure they are safe for users, including testing to make sure they meet national and international standards for exposure to radio frequency emissions.
All mobile phone batteries and chargers must undergo the same stringent testing to ensure they meet all levels of safety. Genuine mobile phone batteries are tested under intense conditions to ensure they can handle varying conditions of use.
Counterfeit and substandard mobile phones, batteries and chargers, on the other hand, are not subjected to such comprehensive testing and, therefore, the safety of fake phones cannot be verified or guarenteed.
There have been many media reports around the world of incidents of mobile phone batteries exploding and injuring people. Upon investigation, these incidents have been linked back to the use of counterfeit or sub-standard batteries. Counterfeit and some third-party manufactured batteries do not meet all the safety requirements that prevent these incidents. Fake batteries may not have safety circuits, which regulate voltage, current and heat within the battery – without these, the battery can short-circuit and explode or heat up and burn people.
Substandard and dangerous components
Fake phones, batteries and chargers are made from cheap, substandard components and may contain chemicals, that are dangerous to the environment and your health.
The cheap and low-quality components used to manufacture fake phones and accessories are untested, uncertified and can be a safety hazard for users. The substandard components in fake phones often malfunction, with the potential to injure users and damage property.
Fake phones can also contain dangerous chemicals and metals, such as lead and mercury. These are associated with a range of adverse health effects. They can also be harmful to the environment, if they end up in landfills.
Network disruption
Fake phones are a drain on mobile phone networks, reducing network speed and reception for users. Some of them have unpredictably short lives, thus prompting the user to incur extra costs during replacement. Although fake phones might spot a tantalising cheap price tag, the unforeseen trouble lies in their durability.
Testing has shown that counterfeit and substandard phones experience high levels of signal/call failure in many areas where a genuine phone would be able to make and receive calls.