Community Chat

[cuddlesmama]

Yesterday, I received a package in the mail from Amazon. I haven't ordered anything from amazon in 6 months. It was so weired. a note from amazon and it said  A gift for you and my name like I bought myself this gift. It was a small paperback book for $4.95. I looked into my account and there was nothing there. I then called my CC company and they said there is nothing there with that date or that price and it was bought on December 17th. I went to Amazon and there is no one to call and actually talk to someone.And when I looked into returns I can't even return it as there is no such item to get a return form to send it back. This is weird and scary. That someone send me this book said that I ordered it and there is no info about it anywhere. Any suggestions on what or who I should call next? Thanks

[RespectLife]

@cuddlesmama 

It has not since I rarely if ever order from Amazon.  I would want answers too!

Amazon

1-888-280-4331

You may have to leave a return phone number, but the one time I used it, they called me back almost immediately.

HTH

[haddon9]

Amazon does have a customer service phone number.  You can speak to someone. 

1-888-280-4331

[gidgetgh]

I think someone sent you a gift.

[kaydee50]

@cuddlesmama   No, it's never happened to us.  Could someone have sent you a gift?  Is it a book you would read?  Be curious to know what you find out.

Good luck!

[CalminHeart]

Someone pulled the wrong address when shipping it out. Give the book away if you don't want it.

You can talk to Amazon. In the search bar, type Contact Amazon Customer Service. It takes a few clicks to get to the one where they will call you right back. 

[aroc3435]

@cuddlesmama   Yes, it happened to me once when I got something from Amazon as a gift during the summer of 2021.

Slip just said it was a gift from a friend--and it was aanonymous, no name included. 

It was two quarter sheet pans, restaurant quality, I forget the brand, and I use them all the time in my Oster French Door countertop oven.

I would not pursue any more and just appreciate the unexpected gift without any worriees.

Best,

aroc3435

Washington, DC

[cjm61]

@cuddlesmama This happened frequently to my daughter. She had a baby in April and she would receive Amazon orders with no invoice, or any idea who sent it. Each time she would call the customer service number others gave you, they would tell her who sent the item.

It's really not that unusual. My kids will mail me Amazon packages as gifts for other family members living near me. Too many times I thought I had lost my mind and ordered something I had forgot about. What is really funny is a couple times I have saved some items then one of my daughters would order the same exact item that I had planned to give for the same recipient. 

No biggie. Someone thought you were special and wanted to do a little something for you.

[AnnieBelle]

It's a scam called "brushing."  Here's a good explanation of brushing from Fox 5 Atlanta's website:

LOS ANGELES - Have you encountered box loads of merchandise from Amazon on your porch that you didn’t order? Better not to touch them: A scam popping up in the U.S. could mean trouble for victims.

This scam, also called “brushing,” involves unknown senders shipping boxes of various, unordered merchandise from Amazon and other retailers. The boxes usually have no return address and the receiver typically has no idea who ordered the items.

According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the companies are usually foreign, third-party sellers that send the items using the address they found on the website. Their intention is to make it appear as though the recipient wrote a positive online review of the merchandise and that they are a verified buyer.

These companies will then post a fake, positive review to improve their own products’ ratings to increase their sales.

The Better Business Bureau outlined the serious indications the brushing scams have for victims.

First, the fact that the companies were able to send the items could indicate that they hold personal information of the recipient, such as name, address and possibly phone number. If sensitive personal information is on the internet, it could be used for a number of fraudulent purposes.

Additionally, there are instances where “porch thieves” use other people’s mailing addresses and accounts, watch for the delivery of a package and steal it from the door before the resident retrieves it.

For victims of brushing scams, the BBB recommends directly notifying retailers, such as Amazon, who have strict policies against brushing and fake reviews.

Changing account passwords for online retailers and credit cards could further help prevent brushing scams.

[reviewer from sc]

If I can give a few suggestions:

Do you have Alexa? Maybe Alexa accidently heard you say the book's title or author. In a weird accident, Alexa ordered it? Just giving ideas...

Maybe Amazon themselves made the accident. Maybe someone else ordered this book and somehow, Amazon's computer system accidently put your address on the order? 

If this happens again, maybe you need to make a police report if you can't get this resolved with Amazon. Just go to the police station and ask to make a police report of this strange incident. If anything else happens, you'll have a record. THIS would be a last resort. 

As far as Amazon, usually, there is an invoice within the order. It will have an order number on it. That will tell Amazon who ordered it, what time, what credit card was charged, etc...

Not trying to scare you or anything like that. Just trying to help. Anyone else have ideas?