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[Misc] Unordered Parcel arriving - scam?



Klaas

Klaas

I've changed this
Nov 1, 2017
2,567
Excuse the off topicness of this, but always seems to be someone who knows what's what here.

Got a message from my mum that a parcel arrived at her house from META PLATFORMS T TECHNOLOGIES LLC, correct address, but not her name. She spent a while trying to work out who it belonged to but eventually opened it to see what was inside. There was a Quest 3 Headset and nothing else, no invoice or anything.
Day later woman arrived at door very apologetic, saying she's made a mistake, did a parcel arrive. My mum was happy to get rid of it and handed it over.

Sounds very dodgy to me. Those headsets cost about 400 quid I think. Anyone had any experience of this?
 




Uh_huh_him

Uh_huh_him

Well-known member
Sep 28, 2011
10,697
Could be a genuine mistake -
If it was a scam to have some proof of address at your mum's house, a cheaper item would have been ordered surely?
 


Klaas

Klaas

I've changed this
Nov 1, 2017
2,567
Uh_huh_him said:
Could be a genuine mistake -
If it was a scam to have some proof of address at your mum's house, a cheaper item would have been ordered surely?
Click to expand...
That's true. Although, my worry is somehow they've got it delivered and it's yet to be paid for? I dunno how that would work...
 


Hamilton

Hamilton

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
12,487
Brighton
Klaas said:
That's true. Although, my worry is somehow they've got it delivered and it's yet to be paid for? I dunno how that would work...
Click to expand...
Can understand why that would be of concern.
 






Herr Tubthumper

Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
59,640
The Fatherland
Klaas said:
That's true. Although, my worry is somehow they've got it delivered and it's yet to be paid for? I dunno how that would work...
Click to expand...
There’s a few of those buy-now-pay-later companies operating e.g. Klarna. Maybe it was bought with one of these?
 


dazzer6666

dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Mar 27, 2013
52,513
Burgess Hill
That’s the facebook-owning company……….sounds more like a genuine mistake, someone has probably ordered the headset and they’ve cocked the address up, but were able to come back because they knew where it had been delivered. If her name wasn’t anywhere on it and she had no other communication about doesn’t sound like one of the typical parcel scams.
 


Couldn't Be Hyypia

Couldn't Be Hyypia

We've come a long long way together
NSC Patron
Nov 12, 2006
15,919
Near Dorchester, Dorset
Did the woman have id matching the name on the parcel?

Did your mum snap a copy of it on her phone and a pic of the caller?

Did caller have proof of address and if so, was she local or was it obvious how address issue happened?

If not, your mum could have either returned the item or if not straightforward, handed to police and let them sort it.

All very easy for me to say, maybe not easy to do if you're older or feeling intimidated on your doorstep.
 




Herr Tubthumper

Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
59,640
The Fatherland
dazzer6666 said:
That’s the facebook-owning company……….sounds more like a genuine mistake, someone has probably ordered the headset and they’ve cocked the address up, but were able to come back because they knew where it had been delivered. If her name wasn’t anywhere on it and she had no other communication about doesn’t sound like one of the typical parcel scams.
Click to expand...
Maybe. But a quick Google shows a few scams which use other people’s addresses.
 








C

Cheggers

Active member
Jul 28, 2011
217
Bang! And the dirt is gone.
I'd be a bit careful. I had a phone call from 'O2' a while ago saying a new iPhone had been ordered for me, that it was a mistake, but that it would be delivered to my house (as it was too late to stop the delivery) but it was OK as someone would come to my home to pick it up to be returned. I phoned the actual O2 after, who said it was a scam and cancelled the order. O2 didn't (and still haven't) told me how my account was accessed to make the order though.
 


Zeberdi

Zeberdi

Brighton born & bred
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Oct 20, 2022
4,885
Couldn't Be Hyypia said:
1. Did the woman have id matching the name on the parcel?

2. Did your mum snap a copy of it on her phone and a pic of the caller?

3. Did caller have proof of address and if so, was she local or was it obvious how address issue happened?

4. If not, your mum could have either returned the item or if not straightforward, handed to police and let them sort it.

All very easy for me to say, maybe not easy to do if you're older or feeling intimidated on your doorstep.
Click to expand...
Some good points

1. There was no name on the parcel though
2. I wouldn’t advise vulnerable people try and photograph people without their consent who are standing on their doorstep, maybe someone with the foresight could ask the person to wait while they fetch the parcel then snap a shot from a window - This is why Ring doorbell videos come into their own!
3 Yes, I think I would have tried to get the woman’s proof of ID before handing it over or not answered the door at all - I would advise any elderly person not to open the door to strangers anyway.
4. Yes, the safest thing to do might have been to contact the company and asked them to collect the parcel.

The first thing I would ask is how this person knew the parcel was at the address it had been delivered to? I would check any credit card accounts to make sure there was no credit line opened up and contact company anyway to make sure I was not going to be charged for the goods and take it from there.

Very worrying for elderly people (or any of us!) scams are getting more and more sophisticated 😧

Wrong post delivery - what should you do?

What you should do with wrongly delivered post depends on the specifics of the situation - so what should you do if you receive post that isn't meant for you?
www.saga.co.uk
 


S

Shuggie

Well-known member
Sep 19, 2003
667
East Sussex coast
Object lesson in how to buy something and leave no audit trail back to the person who collects the swag?
 




Paulie Gualtieri

Paulie Gualtieri

Bada Bing
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May 8, 2018
9,278
Klaas said:
Excuse the off topicness of this, but always seems to be someone who knows what's what here.

Got a message from my mum that a parcel arrived at her house from META PLATFORMS T TECHNOLOGIES LLC, correct address, but not her name. She spent a while trying to work out who it belonged to but eventually opened it to see what was inside. There was a Quest 3 Headset and nothing else, no invoice or anything.
Day later woman arrived at door very apologetic, saying she's made a mistake, did a parcel arrive. My mum was happy to get rid of it and handed it over.

Sounds very dodgy to me. Those headsets cost about 400 quid I think. Anyone had any experience of this?
Click to expand...
Any chance she’s using the Quest 3 headset and the knock on the door was a virtual interaction within the game?

In all seriousness it’s a little strange that a value Item or any item for that matter would have been accepted via an online order without a name (it’s mandatory in most places for a number of reasons, liability being one)

I’d check your mums card statements to make sure and also have a look at her credit file (clear score is free) to make sure no accounts have been opened in her name recently. The collector obviously knew the address and a parcel was there which could be genuine or a test. Better safe than sorry.
 


BNthree

BNthree

Plastic JCL
Sep 14, 2016
10,947
WeHo


Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
50,219
Faversham
Klaas said:
That's true. Although, my worry is somehow they've got it delivered and it's yet to be paid for? I dunno how that would work...
Click to expand...
There will be no evidence that you signed for it. And if they are crooks they are hardly going to take you to court. But there could be some sort of attempt to get you to accept liability and make a payment. And yet the device is expensive so my guess is the error was genuine.
 


A

alanfp

Member
Feb 23, 2024
32
BNthree said:
Though the parcel didn’t have any name on apparently
Click to expand...
The OP doesn't actually say that - said "not her name".

I do know someone who was targetted in a similar way whereby a scammer managed to order an iphone from his mobile phone account (not his credit card). It was sent to his address and a short time later the scammer phoned him and asked to come round to pick it up from him. It got sorted OK in the end but I think it was because my friend sent the phone back to his phone company, saying that he hadn't ordered it. So... I would check her mobile phone account in case it could have been ordered through that account.
 




BrianB

BrianB

Sleepy Mid Sussex
Nov 14, 2020
377
Contact the supplier and inform them of what's happened ...
Keep a record of the contact and information supplied.
That should cover against being billed for product.
 


Iggle Piggle

Iggle Piggle

Well-known member
Sep 3, 2010
5,353
There is no doubt in my mind this isn't legit.
Who orders a piece of kit like this to the wrong address with no name on it?

i had something similar a few years ago with Vodafone (2 brand new iPhones ordered in my name). The ball ache involved in sorting it out was something else
 


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