Multinational conglomerate 3M, a major healthcare equipment manufacturer during the coronavirus pandemic, has launched a global crackdown on counterfeit respirators and price-gouging related to a flood of knockoffs.
The Minneapolis-based giant said on Monday (Oct. 5) that it has worked with law enforcement and customs agencies around the world to seize 3.5 million counterfeit respirators that were being falsely marketed as made by 3M.
In addition to seizures of the counterfeit machines at customs checkpoints, 3M said there have also been raids around the world by local authorities on suspected resellers and makers of the counterfeit products.
The company said it is also working to stop the sale and resale of counterfeit respirators on various eCommerce platforms, including Amazon, Alibaba, Mercadolibre, Lazada, eBay, Flipkart, Shopee and Made-in-China, among others.
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Vietnam have led some of the most aggressive crackdowns on counterfeit equipment makers.
In the UAE, 3M said it worked with police and the Dubai Department of Economic Development to seize 600,000 knockoff respirators, while in Vietnam, a raid netted 150,000 counterfeit respirators.
In addition, 3M said it has rolled out hotlines around the world aimed at collecting complaints about suspected price-gouging and fraud by makers and sellers of counterfeit respirators. In addition, the company said it has set up “online resources” to help hospitals and other customers to identify authentic 3M respirators and ensure that sales agents are authorized distributors.
Independently of 3M, Amazon in August announced the expansion of its Project Zero anti-counterfeit campaign, aimed at rooting out fake versions of a wide array of products and brands.
All told, 3M said it has filed 19 lawsuits, has investigated 7,700 reports of fraud involving counterfeits of its products, and has won nine temporary restraining orders and seven preliminary injunctions against those making or selling 3M knockoffs, the company said.
The firm added that it has also succeeded in taking down “13,500 false or deceptive social media posts, over 11,500 fraudulent eCommerce offerings and at least 235 deceptive domain names.”
3M also noted that it has been awarded damages or won settlement payments in seven different cases, donating the proceeds to charity.
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