There Are Fake Masks from Online & Pop-Up Stores That Promise to be 3-Ply But Are Only 1-Ply

February 29, 2020

The greater the need, the higher the chance of a successful scam – Bufflord95

When it comes to getting scammed, the number one recipe for success is a desperate need for a certain item.

And that’s what scammers are counting on when they convinced Bufflord95 that fried chicken skin is the way to go for baby-smooth skin.

Similar to Bufflord95’s situation, scammers are counting on Singaporeans’ need for surgical masks to scam them out of their hard-earned money.

Fake 3-Ply Masks From Online & Pop-Up Stores

TNP went on the ground to find out more about surgical masks and it seems they’ve found more than just a need for them.

A 46-year-old Mr Wee said that he found a pop-up store at Lucky Plaza selling 3-ply masks.

Seeing as he hasn’t had any luck finding masks after one week, he bought one box of 50 pieces for $17. That’s almost three times the usual price.

Then, he realised that the masks he had were thinner than the masks he bought from pharmacies.

“The masks looked thin compared with the other masks I had. The filter layer is very porous, while the masks I bought from pharmacies had a thicker middle ply.”

And that wasn’t the only store in Lucky Plaza selling ‘dubious masks’, he added.

And He’s Not The Only One

A student, Stan Kee, told TNP that his aunt also bought ‘substandard’ masks from Johor Bahru for him.

Although the box indicates that the masks are “three-ply”, he found that the masks within are single-ply and “flimsier” than usual.

Singaporeans are now going into JB for masks because they can’t be found easily in Singapore.

In both cases, their box of masks has no brand name or addresses.

Flimsy Masks Are Useless Masks

It can be one thing to spend a huge amount of money on something needed urgently.

But to spend a lot more on something that doesn’t work? That’s a double whammy.

According to this Taiwan doctor, masks that can help prevent infections has three layers:

Waterproof non-woven layer (front)
Microfibre melt-blown non-woken fabric (middle)
Ordinary non-woven fabric (back)

In other words, one-ply masks are only useful if you want to lie to yourself. Might as well just use a piece of tissue paper seh.

So do yourself a favour and stop anyhowly spending your money, especially when companies are freezing salary increments and putting people on unpaid leave, yeah?

You Don’t Need Masks; You Just Need To Wash Hands With Soap

Masks merely give us the illusion of being safe.

With Covid-19 being a contact-based virus instead of an airborne virus, it doesn’t actually protect you much.

In fact, according to experts, donning a mask when you’re healthy could be worse.