3M, law enforcement step up efforts to stop N95 scams

3M, Honeywell and other legitimate manufacturers have been working with law enforcement and state attorneys general since the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. became acute and exacerbated shortages of protective medical supplies.

Now, both 3M and law enforcement are becoming more organized in their efforts to fight the fraud. 3M has set up a hotline to help streamline its efforts and is investigating every instance it knows about.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Erica MacDonald, U.S. attorney for the state, on Monday launched a centralized Minnesota COVID-19 Action Team (MCAT) to investigate and prosecute COVID-19-related price-gouging, medical equipment scams, cybercrimes and hate crimes. This action comes after an online retailer began selling “KN95” masks made in China but were advertised as authentic N95 masks.