# Caution Advised: Counterfeit Masks



## RedBlanketRunner (Apr 8, 2020)

S.E. Asia is now up to it's eyeballs in ordinary face masks. Cottage industries on out to major manufacturers are cashing in on the virus. Some of these masks are obviously home made with questionable materials, others, in typical pirating style are using reputable manufacturer logos, designs, and even packaging.  This is very common and an ongoing major headache for government export inspectors. 
Most recently word has circulated these pirated masks may include  N95 certified type. These may not be easy to spot.

Example of pirating: New in the box Seagate hard disk drive. Shrink wrapped, all the usual data printed on the box. Inside the drive was properly packaged in anti-static film with the Segate data info sticker on the drive and contained manufacturer info sheet and warranty card. My drive failed after two months and I took it to a designated Seagate service center. Shaking their heads they plugged the drive into a test computer and without looking turned the monitor for me to see: *Not Seagate*.
Why develop and manufacture your own product when you can buy cheap knock offs - literally by the ton, disguise everything and sell the products at several hundred percent profit?


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## GMCmedic (Apr 8, 2020)

Be careful with amazon and ebay. This happens with archery broadheads a lot. Company sends its specs to china to be manufactured, once the factory has made all the required product, they make knock offs with inferior materials. Sometimes they market them as knockoffs, and sometimes they package them in the same packaging.


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## CCCSD (Apr 8, 2020)

Imagine that. China selling shoddy goods. Who'da thunk it?


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## RedBlanketRunner (Apr 8, 2020)

The big 'Chinese' label is highly misleading. A vast amount of these knock offs are shipped to foreign countries in pieces, assembled in that country thus receiving a different country of origin label, then either shipped directly or trans-shipped to tertiary countries. China has cultivated a vast network of distribution countries as well as farmed out production to other countries. To a lesser extent, other countries are doing copy-cat production. Disassembly and inspection of various electronic devices from home entertainment on out to highly sophisticated lab and medical equipment finds most components are of Chinese origin or manufactured by Chinese satellite factories now found on all major continents.
The potential for fake or semi fake knock off profiteering often follows the Chinese business model networks and production far exceeds the ability to police these operations.

One example of thousands: Hardware House selling name brand computer components. Nearly 100 outlet stores appeared in Thailand within a few weeks. Most or nearly all of the products sold were factory second rejects repackaged as the genuine article. All outlets were store fronts, many existing for only a few weeks then literally vanishing overnight. All of the stores disappeared within 1 year. All products sold were warranted requiring the product be returned to the point of sale. There are no records the Hardware House computer products stores even existed.


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## SandpitMedic (Apr 8, 2020)

Bro, Thailand and other “3rd world” nations are ripe with counterfeit goods.

This isn’t a new thing. Some of it gets exported. There are a lot of resources devoted to ensuring they don’t both on the export and import sides.

Shoot, I got my best Rolex’s in Thailand from an alley in Bangkok for a few hundred Thai Bhat (~$90 USD)

Fake iPhones, hard drives, clothing, jewelry... generally it’s easy to tell if you’re aware. Fake N95s? That’s something you’ll never know, and it’s up to the authorities to ensure those don’t get to the frontline.


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## RedBlanketRunner (Apr 8, 2020)

Posted due to concern PPEs may be compromised or defective.


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## ffemt8978 (Apr 9, 2020)

SandpitMedic said:


> Shoot, I got my best Rolex’s in Thailand from an alley in Bangkok for a few hundred Thai Bhat (~$90 USD)



To this day. I refuse to admit I purchased anything in Thailand.


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## RedBlanketRunner (Apr 10, 2020)

Why point fingers at Thailand? It is only one of a dozen Asian countries profiting from a consumerism glut that has the export capability to some of the worlds largest marketplaces. Buyer beware. No loyalty or ethics when huge profits are at stake.


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## DrParasite (Apr 11, 2020)

Counterfeit masks have been a problem for decades.  This is nothing new.


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