St. Louis Mo. – With high COVID-19 cases lingering in many parts of the United States and driving many Americans to seek out the safest face coverings available, N95 masks – long the province of medical professionals – are growing in popularity among the general public. Better Business Bureau® (BBB®) cautions consumers to do diligent research and avoid scams when looking for a reliable source of N95 and KN95 masks.
The federal government has announced plans to make 400 million N95 face masks available for free at pharmacies and community health centers nationwide. N95s, also known as respirators, are approved for medical use in the U.S. through rigorous testing by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Many Americans also are turning to the similar KN95 masks, which are widely available online and are regulated by the Chinese government to meet its air pollution standards. However, KN95s are not regulated by the U.S. government. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that some 60% of KN95 masks are counterfeit products that fail to meet even the Chinese standards.
Counterfeit goods, the subject of a 2019 in-depth investigative study by BBB, are a major problem in online shopping. The overwhelming volume of counterfeit goods coming from China was a key finding in BBB’s 2021 investigative study on online purchase scams, which have skyrocketed…
