We have taken very strong steps around attacking the problems of counterfeiting or price gouging. And that has occurred over the last year in this constrained supply and very strong demand environment on critical products such as the N95, Mike Vale, who leads 3M s safety and industrial business group, told CNBC.
N95s have been the gold standard during the coronavirus pandemic for their ability to filter out at least 95% of airborne particles. The masks, which are seen as critical in protecting front-line workers from Covid-19, have been in short supply. 3M is the largest N95 manufacturer.
Federal authorities announced Wednesday that scammers have distributed millions of fake N95s to health-care workers in at least five states. So far, 11,000 cases of the counterfeit masks have been reported by 3M, leading to 29 civil lawsuits. In total, the company said it s seized 10 million fake N95s. In mid-January, 3M helped its home state of Minnesota avoid buying nearly 500,000 counterfeit
WASHINGTON (AP) Federal authorities are investigating a massive counterfeit N95 mask operation in which fake 3M masks were sold in at least five states to hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies. The foreign-made knockoffs are becoming increasingly difficult to spot and could put health care workers at grave risk for the coronavirus.