Coffee County Extension Office warns of ‘China Seeds’

Over the last month residents across the country have begun receiving packages filled with “mystery seeds” from China.

Coffee County Extension Coordinator Gavin Mauldin warned residents on Aug. 10 not to open the packages, throw them away or flush them, but to report them immediately.

“They could be invasive species so just turn them in and get them reported,” Mauldin said.

Mauldin said that anyone that receives one of these packages – which are typically labeled as jewelry or other kinds of products – can report them and turn them into the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industry or at the county extension office in New Brockton.

Mauldin said that the seeds that have been reported thus far have typically been that of flowers, herbs, melons and weeds. He said that it’s likely a scam.

“What I’ve heard is they are sending them out and then these companies write reviews for products using your address and name to review the products,” Mauldin said. “It’s called a brushing scam.”

Brushing scams are used primarily by Chinese e-commerce companies/sites using real people’s names and addresses to place fake orders for products and then using their names to boost the rating for the product.

The Coffee County Extension Office is located at 1055 E. McKinnon Street in New Brockton and is open from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on the weekdays and closed on weekends.