Receiving Unsolicited Mail/Small Parcels at My Address

jubz on 26/04/2017 - 17:31
Last edited 27/04/2017 - 17:10

I am receiving unsolicited mail/small parcel at my address under the pseudo name of "James Rice". I have been living at this address since two and half years and never received similar parcel under the name of 'James Rice'. There is a phone number mentioned for James Rice and that is a fake phone number with my address, I tried calling but no luck. Even the previous owner and my neighbours' name doesn't match.

I have received around seven of them so far coming one/two at a time in a week Image 1 and Image 2. The parcel is small envelopes similar to what we received when we order from eBay. The description mention they are under $5 value and content say handicraft or earrings and are originating from China. I haven't opened the envelopes to check what's inside.

Any idea why am I receiving this parcel and what could be the motive behind sending this packages at my address?

What should I do, there is no address to return these parcels or should I report this to anyone?

UPDATE: Thank you all for the feedback. I have returned the envelopes to my local post office to send it back to the sender.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • MeesusEff on 26/04/2017 - 17:45
    +3

    Unless they are drugs, i would be stoked if someone constantly sent free gifts to my house ;) ahha

    PS : I am joking, but I would open one to check.

  • bobbified on 26/04/2017 - 17:56
    +3

    Have you tried opening one to see what's inside?

    Not to alarm you or anything, but this is how drugs are usually sent from overseas. They send a lot of these to neighbouring addresses and someone will try to come around and collect it before the householder comes out. Usually they'll try use vacant addresses though. (of which your address doesn't quite fit into).
    The logic is, even if only a small number make it through the postal system, it's still good enough.

  • Mikinoz on 26/04/2017 - 18:01
    +4

    You need to open at least one, lets say you get raided by the AFP. How do you prove its not yours.

    I would open one if it looks dodgy call the AFP yourself

    Other than that i've bought in and need closure………

  • loulou1 on 26/04/2017 - 18:03
    +10

    Do not open them, take them to the post office and advise they are not yours. They will, return to sender.
    Do you really want to open them? imagine if they are drugs and it is some kind of sting and you get caught with the contents. thanks but no thanks.

  • John Kimble on 26/04/2017 - 18:06
    +1

    Any idea why am I receiving this parcel and what could be the motive behind sending this packages at my address?

    How could anybody know this???

    • Cheapo333 on 26/04/2017 - 23:41
      +3

      John Kimble is an undercover police officer.
      If you don't believe me do a quick google search, gonna put OP behind bars.

  • Savas on 26/04/2017 - 18:19
    +5

    Sounds like a fellow OzBargainer has been using your address to sign up to crap

    • Baebs on 26/04/2017 - 20:03
      +4

      Unlikely. He'd have received a few spoons + forks after the previous House sales ;P

  • mskeggs on 26/04/2017 - 18:33
    +10

    I'm not clear on why everyone is so panicky.
    Worst case, free drugs!

    More likely is James has typed the wrong address into paypal and is happily waiting for his earrings to arrive. Eventually he will realise the mistake and correct the address and the parcels will stop, but consider if you made that error, you could easily keep ordering for 4 or 5 weeks before you started to wonder why no stuff was arriving.

    • John Kimble on 26/04/2017 - 19:00

      Not personally, I would contact the seller initially.

      Edit: oh I get what you are saying now. Ha

    • kywst on 26/04/2017 - 19:45

      Have to agree with mskeggs. Tried sending weed back from Amsterdam when I was living in London back in the day and it never arrived. A letter from HM Revenue & Customs did on the other hand.

    • Clear on 27/04/2017 - 15:09
      +1

      More likely is James has typed the wrong address into paypal and is happily waiting for his earrings to arrive.

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/303901

  • RobMel on 26/04/2017 - 18:33
    +2

    Do not open. Thats against the law. Return to Post Office as others said.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2017 - 18:34

    Why would James be buying earrings….but tbh I think James might have used the wrong address

  • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2017 - 18:54

    james probably has a very similar address to you.

  • John Kimble on 26/04/2017 - 18:59
    +1

    Maybe try and find the seller/buyer eBay name/ID on the parcels? Some of the stuff I buy comes with it on there in tiny writing … I think that's how some sellers keep track.

    Could potentially contact via eBay if so?

  • Save Medicare on 26/04/2017 - 19:07
    +5

    James Rice? That's an inside joke at James Ruse, the agricultural high school. The joke is that everyone at James Ruse is Asian and they all eat rice. I even have a t-shirt that says James Rice. That's Nice. My girlfriend got it for me in first year uni.

    Do you live in Sydney by any chance?

    • John Kimble on 26/04/2017 - 19:27

      Holy crap if that turns out to be the reason I take back my first comment!

    • kywst on 26/04/2017 - 19:41
      +1

      Ahhh Spot-the-Aussie Agricultural High. That still a running joke? Used to be Carlingford's, Baulkham Hills' and Muirfield's go to.

    • Baebs on 26/04/2017 - 20:05

      I never got the "agricultural" thing; everyone I know from there is doing med

      *And yes, they are all Asian :)

  • Cave Fire on 26/04/2017 - 19:30

    Do the packages feel like they have cardboard with layers of soft plastic inside them? It's usually what is used to avoid sniffer dogs or xrays. I would return and get some sort of confirmation as this seems quite dodgy. Might also be a forward in place to your address, so only way to check is Auspost.

    • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2017 - 20:28
      +1

      Just for the record (you can record this) drug detection dogs will find drugs where ever they are hidden the old urban myth coffee etc does not apply today. It is simply hit or miss if a drug dog runs over the mail with drugs it will find it. If the mail passes through the system without a dog present then yes free drugs. These dogs are highly trained to sniff out targets at up to kilometers away.

      • Diji1 on 26/04/2017 - 20:40
        +2

        Drugs get past dogs all the time lol.

        • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2017 - 20:50
          +2

          That's a rash generalised statement maybe you should read my comment dogs will find drugs, if the the dog is working the mail they will find it, but that only happens by chance as they do not run the dogs over everything. I train these same dogs heck I can train a family pet dog to find it in less than 4 training sessions. Look it up K9 Nose work we can turn most dogs into a detective. So sorry to burst your bubble.

        • Findo on 26/04/2017 - 23:33
          +2

          @Silence Dogood: how much would it cost to train a family dog to become a hobbyist grade sniffer dog? You know, just to find out where the goodies bad stuff is

        • altomic on 27/04/2017 - 09:08
          +1

          @niggard: It's relatively easy to train a dog to sniff drugs. You just need some drugs to train the dog with (for the dog to smell, not for the trainer to take). I had a plan in the 90s to get a dog and train it to sniff out cannabis and then go bush walking in the dandenong ranges. However I would've needed cannabis to train the dog and as an Arts student at the time I never had any

        • Forfiet on 27/04/2017 - 11:13

          @altomic: Yeah I remember reading about a pet dog being used to sniff out stuff on a US military island/atoll….

        • mskeggs on 27/04/2017 - 16:44
          +1

          @altomic:
          At least, not for long enough to train a dog…

      • kaos on 27/04/2017 - 13:49

        Drug dogs have a pitifully low accuracy rate, and should not be used.

        http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/sniffer-dogs-get-i…

        ''No test which has an 80 per cent error rate could be considered a reasonable basis on which to conduct an intrusive public search of a citizen going about their daily business,'' Mr Shoebridge said.

  • kywst on 26/04/2017 - 19:39
    +2

    Even if they are drugs there would have to be a link to yourself to be incriminated. Let's not forget our data retention laws have recently taken effect … unless, of course, you've arranged for this prior with that knowledge and are now establishing plausible deniability …

    • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2017 - 20:09
      +1

      Yes so true… a long time ago ( when I was living as an expat in Peru) folks would send cards etc to an address with drugs usually cocaine in them which they bought while travelling in South America and tell their friends when a letter arrives for so and so just mark it return to sender not known at this address. So the scam was if the cops did turn up they had plausible deniability yeah here it is sitting on the top of the fridge I have been meaning to drop it off at the post office but hey have
      been busy. If not then you get the picture snort snort.

        • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2017 - 20:21

          ha that is so funny. I worked for a travel agency there and one of the staff was a complete coke head who used to say coke makes you feel like a new man and what does every new man need another line!

  • KitchenSink on 26/04/2017 - 20:03

    Have you tried asking the postman?

  • robbyjones on 26/04/2017 - 20:08

    I wouldn't be able to help myself I would definitely open one parcel, curiosity would just kill me. On the upside if they are eBay deliveries perhaps it may have a username of buyer or seller you I could send a message to.

  • captobvious on 26/04/2017 - 22:12
    +1

    Does the timing of the parcels coinside with Ozbargain deals?

  • hell0 on 26/04/2017 - 23:08
    +3

    Oh hey aren't drugs everyone, they wouldn't make it past international postage most of the time.

    Are you sure it isn't addressed to Jasmine Rice?

    • kerfuffle on 27/04/2017 - 02:03
      +1

      If you click in the photos the OP provided, you can clearly tell they're for a James Rice …

      • Baysew on 27/04/2017 - 09:12
        +4

        Correct! - James Basmati Rice

  • Baysew on 27/04/2017 - 09:08
    +2

    Possibly solved - It's this guy Got caught out today by Gearbest and Paypal - BEWARE

    it suddenly shows the shipping address as something that was almost 3 years out of date.

  • woodwa on 27/04/2017 - 12:53

    I had someone using my email address in the US.. I found them via Facebook through the little bit I learnt about their shopping habits(name town state gender).. befriended them and asked them to check email address when buying things because I found him because of this… I since have stopped getting his redbox emails and a few other things.

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