SAN DIEGO — At least 15 San Diegans from across the county have received a mysterious package of seeds from China during the last week of July. The first report was made to the County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures on Friday and the packages have continued arriving.
“We're asking people because we don't know what these seeds are, what diseases they could contain, or even if they could be some kind of invasive wheat, that they don't throw them away and that they don't plant them,” said Deputy Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer Travis Elder.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture believes the shipments may be part of a “brushing scam” and that people who receive them are unwitting participants
The scam occurs when an unscrupulous seller wants to inflate their profile rating, which makes their products rank higher. Typically, the seller will create a fake profile and purchase their own goods with a gift card or untraceable method. They then ship a low-cost item, such as seeds, to a random address. Once the site sees the item has been received, it then marks the buyer as “verified,” which gives more weight to any product review of the seller and item sold than one written by an unverified buyer.
In most cases, the shipments have been sent from China with a customs declaration that claims it contains toys or jewelry.
“They're not even declared as seeds, which implies that they put the wrong declaration onto the wrong items in order to get around customs,” said Elder.
Customs and Border Protection is responsible for screening all inbound packages to the U.S., but does not have the capability to check every shipment.
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Locally, the county is trying to protect native plant and animals from a potentially invasive species.
“If we get a really invasive weed, it could really have serious effects on agriculture,” said Elder.
Anyone who gets an unexpected package containing seeds is asked to do the following:
· Do not open the seed packets and please do not dispose of any of the seeds or the packets.
· If the package is open, please double bag the package and retain it.
· Please take a photo of the package and send it to phpp.awm@sdcounty.ca.gov
· If possible, please drop off any unopened or double-bagged seed packets in drop boxes at AWM offices located at
o 151 E. Carmel St, San Marcos 92128
o 9325 Hazard Way, San Diego 92123
· If you are unable to drop off seed packets, please call the office at (760) 752-4700 to arrange for a pickup.
The county is urging residents not to throw away unexpected seeds because they could still sprout in the landfill.