This cable is not recommended for this iPhone and may not be reliable?

I recently bought a new but un-Apple-certified lightning cord for my iPhone 5c, but this error message has started popping up after about using it about 5 times. Now, my phone is completely dead, and I have no money to buy a new cable, no cable that will charge my phone, and a dead phone. I'm completely desperate for help here, since, like a cliche white girl, my phone is my life.

You can't use a Non-certified and authenticated cable for Apple devices. There's an authentication chip on Apple cables, so the connectors without those authentication chips will not work since the software (feature included in iOS 7 to identify certified cables and use them ONLY) won't let you use it. So you have to buy an official charger to charge your device or you CAN'T. Read below to know what is GOOD about this.

However, there's a good side on this. IPhones and other idevices were reported for being damaged after using 3rd Party Chargers. Users also complained on getting electric shocks after 3rd party charger usage.

iPhones were also reported on that the phone not charging after using 3rd Party chargers. This is because the UC I2 chip getting damaged. The rate that the electricity is transferred to the device is regulated by Apple and the devices they make are supported to the rate of what their chargers transfer. 3rd party cables transfer them in a different rate and thus the UC I2 cable which controls the charge to the battery gets damaged and you can no longer charge your device.

There are worse cases, that an iPhone caught fire while it was in the users pocket and the user suffered second degree burns and it was an emergency condition. And this should warn you more since the device that caught fire was an iPhone 5C, the device you use. I'm not sure if it was from 3rd party chargers but all articles say that this USUALLY occurs from using 3rd party accessories, but they didn't clearly refer it to this case.

There are more WORSE case scenarios which leads to DEATH. Read this (source CNET)

"Last week, reports surfaced in China that suggested the woman, Ma Ailun, might have been using a third-party charger designed to look like the real thing. Although third-party chargers are not uncommon, they vary widely in terms of safety and quality. Earlier this year, safety consulting and certification company UL issued a warning that counterfeit Apple USB chargers were making the rounds and that consumers should be on the lookout for them due to their lower quality and possibly dangerous defects. The company posted the guidance on its site after a woman was allegedly electrocuted while answering a call on her iPhone."

So these cases always happen when using cheap third party stuff on your Apple devices, and thus you gotta buy official stuff. Apple just doesn't do the "This cable is not recommended for this iPhone and may not be reliable" for getting more money, they care about the users safety too, however they still charge a heavy amount for their accessories.