BARGAIN OR FAKE? How To Spot Counterfeit iPhones And Other Phony Tech ...

Flickr/English106The post holiday sale season is upon us. It's a great time to find bargains on the consumer tech toys you wanted but didn't get as gifts.

Unfortunately, it's also a good time to get ripped off.

Low prices could mean a great deal. But they could also mean you're really buying a fake.

Counterfeiters sell $700 billion worth of fake products every year, says Craig Crosby, founder and CEO of the Counterfeit Report, a site dedicated to stopping them,

And when it comes to fake electronics, there's a reason that they're cheap. They aren't certified. They don't use the same materials and won't perform like the originals. They can even be dangerous.

There are all sorts of counterfeit electronics out there. Fake iPhones are particularly popular, especially the new 5S and 5C models, reports OpSec Security, a company that offers products and services to fight counterfeiting.