State agriculture officials warn residents to not plant seeds received in mail from China

Thousands of people in the US and in Connecticut say they've received packets of seeds in the mail from China they never ordered.
Officials at the state Agricultural Experiment station say it's unclear where those seeds came from, but they are sure of one thing: they don't want you to plant them.
State entomologist Dr. Kirby Stafford says the unsolicited envelopes have a foreign return address, usually in China, and contain packets of a variety of seeds.
It's believed they may be part of a scam called "brushing," where worthless packages are sent to random recipients with misleading labels in a ploy to generate fraudulent product reviews online.
Stafford says when you introduce a new species into the environment, there's a chance you'll never be able to take it out again.
Stafford says to hold onto the seeds along with the packaging, as the USDA is investigating.
State officials say to contact them if you received a package of seeds in the mail that you didn't ask for.