BLACK Friday shoppers have been warned to avoid potentially dangerous counterfeit items widely available online.

The charity Electrical Safety First said its own investigation had found highly sophisticated, dangerous counterfeits for sale through online marketplaces which were not necessarily vetted by retailers.

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Its figures suggested that more than one million people found they had bought a counterfeit last year, including fakes of popular items such as NutriBullets, GhD hair straighteners and Apple accessories.

It is warning bargain hunters to "shop smart", and said the number of reported counterfeit electrical items had grown by 12% in the past year and were almost impossible to spot.

Typical tricks used to sell fake items included imagery taken from official product sites, fake official safety marks and believable pricing, with some counterfeits costing just a few pounds less than the recommended retail price to avoid arousing suspicion.

The best way to guarantee an item's legitimacy was to buy directly from official online retailers, the charity said.

Tests carried out by Electrical Safety First found that while many items appeared sophisticated on the outside, even those with small fake internal components were at risk of exploding in up to 20% of cases, leaving consumers open to serious injury or property damage.

Electrical Safety First spokeswoman Emma Apter said: "While the sales offer a great chance for shoppers to bag a bargain online, it's vital they keep their wits about them to make sure they're getting a real deal.

"Counterfeits are now readily available at the click of a button and despite fake electrical products appearing more convincing than ever, they can contain less than half the internal components required to run safely.

"We're urging people to shop smart. At best you could be swindled but at worst you could be putting your life at risk."