Reports of more counterfeit 3M N95 masks, again bound for frontline workers, have come in from authorities in Washington State and Ontario.

The U.S Department of Homeland Security reported that it has seized more than 460,000 masks that were made to look like authentic 3M N95 respirators, which have experienced huge demand for their particle-filtering ability during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Had the masks been authentic, they’d have a value of $587,000, authorities said. 3M is parent company of Top 40 promotional products supplier 3M/Promotional Markets (asi/91240).

The masks were on their way to Washington’s Puget Sound region, where they were supposed to go to first responders.

“Counterfeit surgical masks are a serious threat to the frontline personnel who rely on them as they bravely combat this pandemic,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who’s spearheading Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in the Pacific Northwest.

Hammer continued: “Ensuring the integrity of the PPE supply chain is of utmost importance. HSI Seattle is actively engaging with our law enforcement partners to combat the trafficking of counterfeit PPE. The seizures…demonstrate our commitment to pursue anyone who puts lives and people’s health at risk just to gain an illicit profit.”

In Canada, Ontario’s government has reported that counterfeit N95 masks have entered the province’s supply of PPE. Some of the knockoffs have already been distributed to healthcare providers.

In a memo, the government alerted healthcare providers that certain lot codes on supposed N95 respirators could indicate the masks are fake. Provincial authorities urged health system entities to review their PPE stores to see if they’ve been affected. There was no word on how many counterfeit N95s might be in circulation.

“The Ministry of Health is urgently reviewing all inventory in its warehouses to identify any affected product. We have also alerted our federal partners at Health Canada of the situation by 3M and have been working with them to address the issue,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Ontario authorities said that, if healthcare providers identify counterfeit N95s, then they should isolate the masks and notify the Ministry of Health immediately.

3M, which has been working with authorities to combat N95 fraud in the U.S. and Canada, said that counterfeiting of its masks appears to be on the rise in Canada.

The same could be said of the U.S. As announced by authorities on Feb. 17, 3M provided leads that helped federal authorities seize millions of counterfeit N95 masks. Many of those bogus respirators were bound for frontline workers.

3M, parent company of Top 40 supplier 3M/Promotional Markets, provided pivotal tips that helped lead law enforcement to the seizure of 11 million counterfeit N95 masks over the last few weeks. https://t.co/mpTE4mFX9w @asicentral @ASI_MBell

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) February 18, 2021

“They’re extremely dangerous,” Steve K. Francis, assistant director for the Global Trade Investigations Division of Homeland Security Investigations, said of the counterfeit masks. “They’re providing a false sense of security to our first-line responders, to American consumers. I can’t stress how important it is to ensure that we have the legitimate 3M N95 masks that are being deployed to our first responders.”

To prevent getting scammed and unwittingly buying counterfeit N95s, authorities said would-be buyers should purchase directly from 3M or an entity that has been verified as an authorized 3M dealer.

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