Brushing Scam

[pigfarmer]

OK, this is a weird one and since this is a global forum with very clever people in it, WTF with this?

At separate times within the past few weeks two of my nieces in WI received packages from unknown addresses. When you look up the tracking info they are innocuous houses in AL an TN owned by strangers who have nothing to do with our family or friends.

I immediately suspected that the return addresses are irrelevant and the only thing for sure is that they were mailed from post offices that were local to them. Nothing to do with the owners at all.

First one was to my adult single niece - chocolates. She threw them away. Second one showed up yesterday at my adult married niece's house addressed to her and her husband. A cheap and weird coffee or maybe tea set that came with miniature metal martini glass looking cups. Both hand packaged and hand written boxes. Return address name was illegible for both of them.

It's a scam, I wonder about their internet habits and security. I found 'brushing scam' but am having a hard time connecting it to this. It's not packages of seeds but definitely odd.

Anybody heard of this?

 

[Standingstones]

OK, this is a weird one and since this is a global forum with very clever people in it, WTF with this?

At separate times within the past few weeks two of my nieces in WI received packages from unknown addresses. When you look up the tracking info they are innocuous houses in AL an TN owned by strangers who have nothing to do with our family or friends.

I immediately suspected that the return addresses are irrelevant and the only thing for sure is that they were mailed from post offices that were local to them. Nothing to do with the owners at all.

First one was to my adult single niece - chocolates. She threw them away. Second one showed up yesterday at my adult married niece's house addressed to her and her husband. A cheap and weird coffee or maybe tea set that came with miniature metal martini glass looking cups. Both hand packaged and hand written boxes. Return address name was illegible for both of them.

It's a scam, I wonder about their internet habits and security. I found 'brushing scam' but am having a hard time connecting it to this. It's not packages of seeds but definitely odd.

Anybody heard of this?

This article seems to sum up brushing scams pretty well....

Amazon Scam Warning: Beware of Deliveries You Didn't Order - Clark Howard

 

[pigfarmer]

yeah. problem is these were hand wrapped and hand written. not from Amazon or the like. odd.

 

[nivek]

I havent heard anything like this, very strange they would send stuff like martini glasses...

...

 

[JahaRa]

I haven't heard of anything like this @pigfarmer. It seems very creepy.

I have had the opposite trouble, I ordered something and it got shipped to the wrong address, a completely random address and the person who received it opened it even though it did not have their name on it. It got returned to the company and they just put the whole thing in another envelope and mailed it to the correct address. I assume the person returned it because they didn't know what it was. (sprockets for a doggie gate). If it had been something expensive or useful to them I don't think I would have gotten it.

 

[michael59]

I heard about the seeds and phone calls that if you return the call it's not someone you know it's someone phishing for info. I got a call from some place that sounded legit, but you can't trust anyone anymore. Tell your niece to throw out those cups. maybe there is some kind of tracking device or something hidden within the shell that can monitor or record or latch on to another device in her home.