Today’s entry. A recent happening in Linda Stowe’s life. A good “heads up” for all of us.
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There was a time when FedEx and UPS would chime your doorbell to deliver a package. Now they just set it on the doorstep, take a picture, and race off to the next delivery. That’s why it took me days to find the slim envelope from Home Depot the FedEx driver propped against my front porch wall. The delivery was brought to my attention by a neighbor stopping by.
I was surprised because I always keep track of expected deliveries. I have never done business with Home Depot, but sometimes my son sends me things. Maybe it was from him. However, when I opened the envelope and found a PCV pipe elbow (see picture), I didn’t think it likely that my son sent it. Maybe it was a mistake.
I looked at the envelope and saw that the address was right. It was my address. But it was not my name. It wasn’t anyone’s name. The package was addressed to “You Like” at a business called “You Like.” The address label said:
You Like
You Like
My street address
My town address
What was all this about? I called my brother, who did some research and said it was probably something called a “Brushing Scam.” This is when online sellers send unsolicited packages to customers to create fake product reviews. They start off by sending you something cheap (the PCV elbow was listed for 85 cents on the Home Depot website), but that is only to establish you as a bona fide “customer.” After that, the customer’s name is used to create fake online endorsements for usually inferior products. This is a wire fraud crime.
We called Home Depot to find out more. The return address on my package was McDonough, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. We learned that my package was ordered online from their store by a third party and was paid for with a gift card. In other words, the transaction was untraceable. The woman who took our call said she would report it to their fraud division but, beyond that, she had no answers.
And that’s where I stand. Someone used my address, but apparently does not have my name. They used a seller I have no history with. And to this point, there has been no unusual activity involving my credit card. All I have are questions and a PCV pipe elbow, and a vague sense that something else could happen. It’s a mystery in this month with a Friday the 13th and Halloween looming.
The Big Scam. By Linda Stowe
