As you know, counterfeit water filters are rampant online, disguised as certified filters with trademark violations, fraudulent and misleading labels and importantly, alluring price tags.
The water that is passed through these fake filters may look, smell or taste fine, but microbial and organic contaminants lurking in the water that pose serious threats to health and well-being are often invisible and odorless.
For consumers who don’t purchase replacements from reputable sources, the threat of ending up with a counterfeit water filter is real. Ken Gauld learned this lesson the hard way when he purchased water filters online. A Michigander living close to Flint, Ken relies on water filters to provide his family with safe drinking water. Despite doing his research, Ken still received what he suspected were counterfeit water filters. He sent them to AHAM for testing, and we were able to confirm his suspicions.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 5,200 counterfeit filters at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport last month. CBP estimated that if the filters had been genuine, they would have had a combined manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $224,202.
AHAM’s Filter it Out campaign aims to raise awareness of the serious health and safety risks of counterfeit water filters, which have received significant mainstream media coverage recently. Last month, InvestigateTV released a report highlighting the risk of counterfeit filters – watch it below:
Read InvestigateTV’s piece here.
Learn more about Filter It Out.
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