PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has sent out a warning saying potentially dangerous seeds are being delivered to people's homes throughout the country. The seeds are unlabeled and marked as jewelry on the packaging.
"What else could we be expecting of 2020 besides some seed smuggling fraud?" commented Erin McAndrew.
Erin McAndrew is from Washington County, Pennsylvania, just south of Pittsburgh. She said she received some unmarked seeds in Chinese packaging last week.
"These seeds, in particular, I received last week in the mail from this packaging that was marked at jewelry. So I thought I got a gift and I was pretty excited. It said it was a ring and I was like, 'Wow, did someone order me something?' And I opened it up, and it's just this unmarked packet of seeds, which look like tomato seeds," she said as she showed Newswatch 16 the seeds on a Zoom call.
The Department of Agriculture says this is likely a scam known as brushing. Companies purchase their own items through fake accounts. The products are shipped to a real address to someone who didn't order them. Then the company writes a positive review to boost sales. Usually, the packages are empty, but for some reason, now they contain unmarked seeds.
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"I think there is a lot of review fraud going on online," added McAndrew.
McAndrew says at first, she didn't think anything of it because earlier this year, she did order seeds online and thought these were part of the order.
"The order that I placed on Amazon, the seeds are still 'running late.' I ordered them in April, they didn't say 'shipped' or 'delivered,' and it wasn't a Chinese company; it was an American company," explained McAndrew.
Officials say planting these unsolicited seeds could be dangerous. They could carry plant diseases or invasive species harmful to the environment. Erin is glad she saw the warning because as an avid gardener and someone who ordered seeds online, she would have likely planted them next growing season.
"Because then you receive seeds, you're like, 'Wow, thanks. Three months later, sure,' and plop them in," she said.
If you have received these seeds in the mail, Report the package to the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) confidential Anti-smuggling Hotline, 800-877-3835 or email SITC.Mail@aphis.usda.gov. USDA will provide further instructions.