The lure of a good deal is putting Canadians at risk as they plug their high-end electronics into dangerous, poorly assembled USB chargers.

In March and April, Health Canada tested about 50 uncertified USB chargers bought across Canada and found 30 of them posed an unacceptable risk of electric shock and fire. Those chargers, mainly sold at gas stations and dollar stores, have been recalled.

People have received minor burns or electric shocks from cheap chargers, according to Health Canada. Since 2011, Canadians have reported 100 incidents of dangerous malfunctions to the government agency.

'Like ticking time bombs'

The chargers are used to provide power to a multitude of devices including phones, tablets and cameras.

"Electrical fires, they're like ticking time bombs," said Matt Covey, division chief for fire prevention with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency.

"They start to degrade and at some point either they fault and cause a fire or they fault and you go to grab the cord and you get a good shock."

Anyone with a recalled product should stop using it immediately and either return it to the retailer where it was purchased or get rid of it.

This is one of the 30 USB chargers that has been recalled by Health Canada. (Health Canada)

All of the chargers tested were uncertified, meaning they did not meet provincial and territorial electrical codes or safety standards. Most of the problem chargers were made outside Canada.

The companies importing the products to Canada are supposed to make sure they meet all the required safety standards, according to Geoff Barrett, a director with Health Canada.

Matt Covey is division chief for fire prevention with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency. (Elizabeth Chiu/CBC)

Despite that responsibility, no companies are facing any criminal charges for selling dangerous merchandise.

"The best approach for Health Canada has been to work directly with the Canadian importers and all of the companies we've been working with to date have been taking very timely voluntary action in light of this issue," said Barrett.

"We don't feel any need to escalate this any further with respect to criminal charges or anything like that."

Barrett doesn't know why companies imported uncertified chargers, but suspects it may have been a combination of not knowing the chargers were uncertified and just assuming the products were safe.

Health Canada says chargers like this one pose too great a risk of electric shock or fire to be used. (Health Canada)

In 2017, Halifax had about 12 fires caused by portable electronics plugged into power outlets. Covey said so far this year he doesn't know of any fires being directly attributed to chargers or the electronics they power.

But that doesn't mean they're not happening.

Safety tips for charging devices

"These fires they can take a house down, so some of those could be going undetected, because although we investigate all fires and try to determine cause, for that kind of fire there could be nothing there to investigate. It could be a total, total loss," said Covey.

Barrett said one of the best ways to avoid buying a faulty charger is to make sure there is a certification mark on the electronic device, including the symbols found below.

These are some of the common Canadian certification marks that can be found on electrical products. (Health Canada)

He also recommended only using chargers specifically built to charge the device you're using, to never use a damaged charger, or charge a device on a soft surface.

But being cautious doesn't mean much if the charger a person buys is faulty to begin with. Covey said the best way to avoid that is to think of an expensive charger as an investment in the health of your electronics.

"You've got a very expensive device a lot of times that you're plugging into. I would recommend for the safety of yourself and your property that you don't buy a cheap charger, because it could cost you in the end," said Covey.