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My wife received a small package, containing a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses (whether original or fake I don't know) in a nice leather-looking case. It is addressed to her, correct name, street, postcode, and her mobile phone number printed on it. Declared with a value of $15 printed on it, and coming from a company in China.

Everything fine, except she never ordered any sunglasses, and she never paid for any sunglasses.

I know there are scams where scammers send rubbish items to random people, and that entitles them to post fake reviews on Amazon, for example. The only thing is, this isn't a rubbish item. Even if these sunglasses are fake, they would be worth some money.

Does anyone have an idea how either (a) a company in China could send goods to a random real person by mistake, or (b) what kind of scam would make it worth while to send an item that would probably cost £10 to £20 on Amazon?

gnasher729
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4 Answers4

37

This is common enough that it has a name, a "brushing scam". Newsweek quotes the USDA:

The USDA said in a statement: "At this time, we don't have any evidence indicating this is something other than a 'brushing scam' where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales.

More news coverage:

The scam is worth it because an item that costs the consumer £10 to £20 probably cost the manufacturer, especially one making counterfeit goods, about £5 or less including shipping.

That £5 loss from sending your wife and many other consumers is worth it apparently. They can say they delivered so many dozens or hundreds without delay and have positive reviews from the completed sale and delivery. It is a way to buy reputation and legitimacy.

I would be surprised if you got a real Ray Ban product. A casual search turned up dozens of sites like this one which list how to spot a fake by:

  • build quality
  • material selection
  • serial numbers

The sites that say how to identify fake sunglasses are run by competitors who make their money by selling legitimate designer sunglasses.

Freiheit
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depends what was in the package and whether they asked for anything whether money review or otherwise

some larger packages contain drugs or goods ordered by a stolen credit card and delivered to a third party address by ups where someone follow the ups truck and removes the package before the fake name on it has a chance to find it

yukfoo
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In addition to the other answers, there is another possible scam.

The scammers may have opened a credit account in your wife's name and placed an order. Once the goods have arrived, they send a fake email, pretending to be from the merchant, and apologising for the mistake in sending the goods to the wrong person. They will send round a courier, to pick up the package at their expense.

The courier arrives and drives off with the package. The scammers now have some Ray Ban sunglasses, and your wife has a credit account she knows nothing about.

Simon B
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I just learned about a different scam that is supposedly used with eBay.

Someone orders an expensive item from a scammer. You happen to live in the same area, so they send you a cheap item, and UPS for example gives them a receipt for an item delivery. Meanwhile the victim hasn’t received any goods for their money. They complain to eBay or PayPal, but the scammer has proof of delivery. At least close enough to fool eBay and for the scammer to keep the victims money.

I have no idea if this would actually work.

gnasher729
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