All 50 States Have Now Issued Warnings About The Mysterious Seed Packages People Have Been Getting in The Mail
The other day I wrote about people randomly receiving seeds in the mail from China. Seeds that they did not order! The packages were marked as if Jewelry was inside.
I thought it was super creepy! After I wrote about it I saw more people posting about getting these unexplained packages.
Even people in the UK and Canada responded that they had also received these seeds! So it’s happening all over the place. Now my own county agriculture department has posted a warning about it!
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said at a briefing on Tuesday that the address labels were forged and that China Post has asked USPS to send those packages to China for investigation.
CNN
It is assumed that this is part of a “brushing scam”, I had no idea what that was, so of course, I looked it up. This refers to sellers that are posting false customer reviews to help boost their sales. Basically scamming the system for sales boosts.
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.
the USDA said in a statement on Tuesday
They have NOT confirmed that this is a “brushing scam”, at this point no one has a solid answer as to what is happening. If it is a brushing scam, that does not mean that your personal information has been compromised besides your name and mailing address. There hasn’t been any confirmation that anyone that has received the seeds has been hacked. But, I would keep an eye on your accounts anyhow.
If you receive one of these packages in the mail, do not throw them away, they could root and grow. Also, please do not plant them! They could be diseased or invasive.
As I said, they do not have an answer to what is happening yet. Better safe than sorry right? The USDA is planning to test the contents.
So if you have received one of these packages of unsolicited seeds, please contact your state plant regulatory official or APHIS state plant health director. Make sure that you keep the package with the mailing label intact. They will give you instructions about what to do with it.
Have you received one of these mysterious packages in the mail? You can check the warnings from each state from the links below:
What a strange year 2020 has been! What’s next guys?
