AUSTIN (KXAN) – With the holiday shopping season upon us, experts warn of online vendors selling counterfeit car seats for discounted prices.
Counterfeit car seats have been a growing issue nationwide and throughout Texas. And with many families currently feeling financially strained, healthcare professionals are seeing fraudulent seats increasingly pop up.
“We’ve started to notice them a lot more,” said Stewart Williams, the injury prevention manager at Dell Children’s Medical Center.
“Families are coming in, they’re delivering the child, and they’re getting ready to discharge, so they bring that seat in to put the baby into,” he continued. “Our nursing teams or social workers will [say], ‘Hey, there’s something not quite right with the seat.’”
Legitimate car seats sold in the U.S. must meet federal safety standards and certain crash test requirements, while fraudulent ones online may not, Williams said.
“There’s an increased risk to you and your child because those seats are not necessarily meeting federal safety standards,” he said.