If you receive a seed packet in the mail, contact the Michigan Department of Agriculture and do not plant the seeds. | Flickr.com
If you receive a seed packet in the mail, contact the Michigan Department of Agriculture and do not plant the seeds. | Flickr.com
Officials are saying unsolicited packages of seeds may be a scam that online sellers use to make sales and review numbers look better, but receiving one of these packages could indicate that the recipient’s personal information has been compromised and may also pose a threat to native plants.
Robin Rosenbaum, Plant Industry Selection Manager at the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), told "The Frank Beckmann Show" that the packages have been received all over the country, and her agency is working with the federal government to investigate.
“They’re labeled as jewelry, which allows them to get past the check stations, where they would have normally declared, accurately, what was in the package,” she told Beckmann.
Rosenbaum told Beckmann that there is concern that unknown seeds could introduce an invasive species that could overtake native plant habitats.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture has yet to analyze any seeds received by Michigan residents, Rosenbaum said. At this time, residents are asked to keep the seeds in the packages after reporting them to the department and retain the package for possible collection.
“Just leave the seeds in the package -- and keep the packaging, as well as the seeds -- and contact us,” she told Beckmann.
Rosenbaum said that anyone who receives unsolicited seeds can reach out to the Michigan Department of Agriculture at 1-800-292-3939.
Troy Baker, director of the educational foundation for the Better Business Bureau Serving Western Michigan, told WWMT that a “brushing scam” involves a seller sending items to a real address, then posting a positive review in that person’s name.
But while the seeds themselves may not be anything sinister, they could indicate a bigger issue for the people who receive them.
“The odds are, if you get this, your information has likely been compromised in some way, which means your passwords and logins are out there in the internet and you really ought to be taking some precautions,” Baker told WWMT.
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