Amazon Battery Scam May Prove Deadly

Consumers risk explosions, burns, and death from fraudulent 18650 Lithium-ion batteries.

April 9, 2019, Los Angeles, CA – Fraudulent 18650 Lithium-ion ("Li-ion") batteries are proving to be a very real hazard -- a dangerous and deadly risk for consumers. If you don't use the popular laptop, flashlight, camera, battery pack, hoverboard, e-cigarette and vape device battery, why should you care?

• Between March 1991 and February 2019, the FAA reported 241 air/airport incidents (fires and smoke) involving lithium battery carried as cargo or baggage have been recorded. Three major aircraft accidents were reported where lithium battery cargo shipments were implicated, but not proven to be the source of the fire. Li-ion batteries are often illegally shipped or mailed in improper packaging or without required disclosure to the carrier.
• The first reported death from a Li-ion battery was reported in May 2018 by the Pinellas County (Florida) Medical Examiner's office. A 38-year-old Florida man died when an e-cigarette device exploded causing a "projectile wound to the head," and burning 80% of his body. The home had extensive fire damage.
• Thousands of reported fire and explosion incidents resulting in emergency-room visits in the U.S. can be found, including acute injuries, meaning that the victim required hospitalization and may have suffered the loss of a body part. Batteries are often used close the users face, or put in pockets.

Salvaged 18650 Lithium-ion batteries from old laptop computers or power tool battery packs are recycled and re-labeled as "new" in China and sold online at cheap prices with wild capacity claims. Few consumers understand that such batteries rarely have the claimed protective circuitry or venting, which implies protection against overcharging, overheating, explosions or other deleterious events is built in.

An online search of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) will show thousands of fraudulent 18650 Li-ion batteries. However, Amazon cannot be trusted to provide authentic or safe products. Amazon is a direct seller of counterfeit, fraudulent and fake products including fraudulent and dangerous 18650 Li-ion batteries. Despite written notice to Amazon's legal department, the dangerous items remain.

Most 18650 battery listings highlight the energy capacity of the offered battery in milli-amp hours ("mAh"). Typical listings vary from 2,000 mAh to 12,000 mAh. Consumers will gravitate to the higher capacity batteries incorrectly believing they will gain the longest use. Unfortunately, most of these capacity claims are grossly exaggerated, unsubstantiated and completely fraudulent. The space inside the battery case for electrolyte and protective components is the same, limiting legitimate manufacturers of authentic 18650 batteries to capacities under 3800 mAh. However, fraudulent batteries are sold in any capacity.

The Counterfeit Report, an award-winning consumer advocate and counterfeit watchdog, purchased dozens of 18650 Li-ion batteries with wild capacity claims from Amazon as a direct seller. All the 18650 batteries tested at only a fraction of the stated capacity, some as little as 400mAh, and none contained the labeled or claimed protective circuitry. Electrical shorting and a fire occurred in one test.

All the Amazon 18650 Li-ion batteries shown below are fraudulent.

A 2017 report by FEMA and the U.S. Fire Administration concludes that "Lithium-ion batteries should not be used in e-cigarettes. While the number of batteries that explode and catch fire is statistically small, the catastrophic nature of the injuries that can occur warrants the use of another battery technology for e-cigarettes."

Consumers receiving a fraudulent 18650 Li-ion battery should stop using it immediately. Do not mail, ship, disassemble, or throw the battery in the trash. Find a qualified recycler or drop-off. You may be responsible for an injury or death, and in violation of federal law. Notify the e-commerce website and the seller you received a fraudulent battery and demand a refund, or cancel the charge on your credit card or Pay-Pal account. You may have additional legal remedies.