I heard you try to blow out a candle. It passes if you can't blow out candle with mask on. Then you pour water into the mask holding the straps. The mask should hold the water where none drips out. If the mask passes then I'm pretty sure it's real and not a fake. There has been a problem with people setting up shop and making masks with inferior materials. That's because masks have gotten so expensive and people are trying to make a quick buck. But I think anything you buy that's in stock in the United States is probably real. They would have to test before they ship to Americans because they would be liable if the masks are fakes. I worry most about people that are buying masks on-line and the masks are being shipped directly to customers from overseas.