First it was seeds, now it is masks. Brown County Sheriff John Merchant says that unordered packages are showing up at some homes across the area. The Brown County Sheriff's office has been receiving concerns from county residents about receiving unsolicited packages of face masks from China through the local mail.
Sheriff Merchant contacted the United States postal inspector in Topeka, who offered some advice. Complaints of unsolicited face masks from China have been made across the United States. If the package has not been opened, write "RETURN TO SENDER", and take it to the local post office. If the package has been opened, and you did not order it, throw it away.
The Postal Inspector said that he has not been aware of anything dangerous in the face masks at this time. He did add that unsolicited packages of seeds, which many Kansas residents reported receiving earlier, have been turned over to the Kansas Department of Agriculture. A USDA official recently said in a statement that 14 different species of the seeds have been identified so far. They include ordinary flowering plants, herbs, and vegetables.
According to the Better Business Bureau this is likely what is referred to as a brushing scam, where scammers mail lightweight packages to people who did not order the merchandise. They do this in order to create fake customer profiles with real names on e-commerce sites, and then create false positive reviews for their products and/or company.
The BBB warns consumers that although the items in the package were chosen simply because they were light and cheap to ship, it is still not advisable to open an unsolicited package. Also, receiving such a package is an indicator that your personal information has been compromised. Keep a close eye on your credit report, bank accounts and credit card bills.