Spanish Police Investigate Stock of Fake Coronavirus Prevention Devices in La Rioja

4 年前

Spain’s Guardia Civil investigated a 60-year-old man in the northern city of La Rioja for alleged fraud for deceptively marketing an ozone air purifier as a COVID-19 prevention device, they said in a press release on April 1.

The Guardia Civil said they are investigating scammers and “cyber criminals” claiming to be able to prevent or cure COVID-19.

“The [man] allegedly took advantage of the health crisis to attract customers and sell the 21 devices that had been stored for several years at 130 euros each,” said the Guardia Civil.

The ozone-generating air filter claimed to be a “powerful disinfectant device” that could prevent COVID-19 by “totally” cleaning a room and “disinfecting all surfaces at once, destroying bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc,” according to the police.

As of April 1, Spain reported more than 102,000 cases of the novel coronavirus and more than 9,000 deaths due to the disease. Credit: Guardia Civil via Storyful