Here’s an example:
We found a new supplier with a seemingly legitimate certificate from a supposedly UK-based certifier.
Certifier doesn’t show in Nando → Hard no
Email certifier to double check → Bounced
Domain registered from China
Server configured in Chinese
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These certification organizations will sell fake certificates as “voluntary certification” which only has to live up to the certifier’s standards, not the regulatory ones. Manufactures can essential buy the branding of a legitimate certification organization for marketing.
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ECM calls this their “Voluntary Mark for Product Certification” and helpfully describes it as: “The Mark may only be used for advertising and promotional purposes and can not in any way refer to the product's compliance with regulations.” http://www.entecerma-it.cn/img/pdf/ECM-Mark-Regulation.pdf …pic.twitter.com/2xISQmdAox
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Celab is even more straightforward and says “the voluntary certificate is not for customs purposes or to demonstrate to the supervisory compliance with the requirements of the CE marking of a product.” https://celab.com/en/ce-marking/voluntary-certificate/ …pic.twitter.com/CFqeUfxU4X
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However, the real and the fake certificates both look official, come with the same logos, and show up in the same verification system. The only difference is that you have to carefully determine whether it’s a “voluntary one.”pic.twitter.com/JaC05xORrD
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I don’t know what the history is behind this, but it feels like a loophole. Some Chinese manufacturers are clearly abusing it in their effort to dump poor quality medical products onto the European market for a quick buck.
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I’m surprised that the European Union allows their accredited certification organisations to run a side-business handing out fake certificates based on the brand value they built within the official system. It’s unconscionable. Let’s fix it
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In case you’re wondering “do these fake certificates work,” I present to you: Well-meaning citizens donated 40,000 masks to the city of Vienna, with what seems to be a fake certificate https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20200331_OTS0106/corona-chinesische-community-uebergab-mehr-als-39000-mundschutzmasken-fuer-wiener-einsatz-organisationen … CE 2703 = ICR Polska = Fake https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/nando/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.nb&refe_cd=NANDO%5FINPUT%5F233263 …pic.twitter.com/vNKAej34rh
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And the European Safety Federation has also taken note of these fake certificates: “We have the impression that manufacturers outside the EU (and probably even ‘newcomers’ and importers in the EU) are not entirely familiar with the EU Legislation” https://www.eu-esf.org/covid-19/4513-covid-19-suspicious-certificates-for-ppe …pic.twitter.com/pUgAn2MT70
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The official response of ICR Polska seems to be that manufacturers are aware that these documents do not certify conformity with the regulation. However, that’s clearly not how manufacturers, resellers or buyers are currently interpreting it in practice. https://www.eu-esf.org/covid-19/4513-covid-19-suspicious-certificates-for-ppe …pic.twitter.com/EO3UfoZ4lE
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Also note how ICR Polska has toned down their warning messagepic.twitter.com/dmgYcSj6eV
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So which organisations can you trust for mask certification? 32 in Europe: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/nando/index.cfm?fuseaction=directive.notifiedbody&dir_id=155501&pro_id=155522 … 45 in China: https://www.cnas.org.cn/english/photonews/03/902316.shtml …
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And yes, I’ll be NAMING and SHAMING some of these companies because they are putting the health of people at risk in times of crisis 
Actual regulatory certification
Fake certificates as marketing documents
Both of those look official, come with the same branding, and pass the document validation check.
However, these marketing documents are BULLSHIT.