The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP), one of the country’s most outspoken consumer action groups, has warned Malaysian tech shoppers of an insidious scam that could threaten all of civilisation as we know it: power banks that are stuffed with sand just to appear more hefty and legit.
The CAP says that ome power banks, which are used to charge mobile phones, tablets, and other mobile smart devices, are filled with sand in order to appear genuine and to contain the capacity to hold a larger electrical charge.
“We bought a few (power banks) after consumers claimed that the power banks drained out very quickly compared to the size of the unit,” CAP president SM Mohamed told Bernama today.
The bogus sand power banks were instead fitted with cheap lower-capacity batteries, with the remainder of the units’ weight made up of sand filler.
Mohamed said the fraudulent power banks were sold at around RM20, despite offering large charge capacities.
In contrast, most genuine 10,000 mAh power banks retail for RM100 or more.
“Our survey also found that these shoddy items are mostly imported from China. There are also some imported ones labelled in a foreign language and not in Bahasa Malaysia,” Mohamed added.
“We are questioning the safety, quality and reliability of such items. Due to its low price, consumers tend to consider such cheap items but this may lead to further wastage as these items do not last long and are not reliable.”
The CAP urged the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism to investigate the matter under the Consumer Protection Act 1999.
