Beware tablet knock-offs during holiday season

Tablet computers will almost certainly be one of the hot-ticket items this holiday season. But this success is leading to the rise of counterfeit products, of which consumers should be leery as they start their holiday shopping.

According to a November 2011 report from brand protection firm MarkMonitor®, more than 23,000 listings for fake or suspicious tablet computers were discovered on a single day in the third quarter. More than 6,600 cyber-squatted sites generate 75 million visits each year, luring consumers with promises of cheap technology or hard-to-say-no special deals.

With the tablet market surging in popularity, it could be expected that some would look to take advantage of a lucrative situation. MarkMonitor warns that there are a few signs to watch out for when shopping for tablets. One tactic counterfeiters use is blurring or not specifying the brand name in an advertisement. A shopper may think he or she is buying one tablet, only to be disappointed to receive another.

MarkMonitor also states that shoppers should note timing of availability. If the seller is offering a certain model well before it's available on the market, there's a good chance that it is counterfeit.

Common sense should be a strong indicator of a tablet scam. If a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is.