U.S. Agents Seize 10 Million Counterfeit N95 Face Masks
February 17 2021 - 6:34PM
Dow Jones News
By Yuka Hayashi
WASHINGTON -- Federal agents have seized approximately 10
million counterfeit N95 face masks bearing the 3M Co. logo in
recent weeks, officials said Wednesday, as they urged thousands of
hospitals and medical facilities to stop using suspected fakes.
The Department of Homeland Security said the counterfeit masks
were made in China. The most recent interdiction occurred
Wednesday, with the seizure of hundreds of thousands of masks from
an East Coast warehouse at an undisclosed location.
Acting on leads from 3M, DHS officials said they have seized
counterfeit items in five states and have opened criminal
investigations.
"They are extremely dangerous," Steve Francis, director of the
Intellectual Property Center for DHS's Homeland Security
Investigations unit said at a news conference. "They are providing
a false sense of security to our first-line responders and to the
American consumers."
Officials said grammatical errors or typos on packaging or user
instructions are telltale signs of counterfeit items. They said
they have contacted about 6,000 hospitals, clinics and others who
may have purchased counterfeit masks, urging them to stop using the
masks and contact DHS immediately.
DHS officials said the department is working with the Justice
Department to bring criminal charges against the those involved in
the counterfeit sales.
The seizures of the fake masks are part of the DHS's initiative
to respond to fraud and criminal activity related to Covid-19,
nicknamed Operation Stolen Promise. Working with U.S. customs
agents, the officials have seized more than 1,800 shipments of
mislabeled, fraudulent, unauthorized or prohibited Covid-19 test
kits, personal protective equipment and other items.
According to a recent report by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, customs agents seized nearly 13 million counterfeit
face masks in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, as well as 177,000
test kits prohibited by the Food and Drug Administration and 38,000
chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine tablets that were barred by the
FDA.
3M said in January it had investigated more than 9,900 reports
of suspected fraud, counterfeiting and price gouging around the
world and have successfully removed of tens of thousands of
e-commerce listings with fraudulent or counterfeit product
offerings and false or deceptive social-media posts.
The company maintains a website that provides information
related to fraud, counterfeiting and price gouging, including how
to identify counterfeit masks.
Write to Yuka Hayashi at yuka.hayashi@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 17, 2021 18:19 ET (23:19 GMT)
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