Hello Oz Bargain brains trust and amateur detective club,
Just a quick one, to see what the general consensus is.
Here's the TLDR:
Parcels stolen on the same day I gave my address to a Facebook market place buyer.
The time window seems to small for them to have tried to do a scam, but it is a weird coincidence.
Scam, passerby theft or mystery disappearance, choose an option.
And here's the full story
Two parcels were supposedly (according to Aus Post tracking) delivered to our address yesterday.
They would have been delivered by our bike-postie, who would have put it in the letter box attached to the fence.
He often will leave letter or satchel parcels sticking out, with the lid up, like so (OBLIGATORY MS PAINT DRAWING): https://ibb.co/2dgzyNR.
And although it's 'behind the fence', it's a) a low fence, and b) easy to reach with no obstacles c) the parcels are very visible.
The parcels are missing, and most likely stolen. This is the first time we've had anything stolen, despite it being a bit of a rough area and with a LOT of strangers, tradies and industrial workers parking in and using the street every day. We've also had a huge amount of rail construction going on and trucks in and out, all day, every day.
Now, here's the question.
Were the parcels stolen by a random passer-by, or: plot twist, by a facebook scammer.
I was selling an item on marketplace, and got a message at 9am from someone wanting to buy it. They asked when I was home. I said, after 2pm, but did NOT give the address. They just knew the suburb from my listing.
At 1pm, they messaged again, and said they wanted to come and buy it. I was on the tram home, so said OK. After back and forth messaging, I gave the address at 1:18pm, and was home by 1:35pm.
They never showed up, and deleted themselves from the conversation. I cannot find them through facebook, though I have a screenshot of the messages, as well as their name and profile photo. I have no intention of tracking them down anyway, as a) I have no proof they are connected to the missing parcels and b) I'd rather not get into a fight over $100 worth of completely replaceable items.
However, it got me wondering if a) it actually was a scam and b) if so, what the scam was. Had they come to the suburb with the intention of trying to break into the house within the 40 minute window? (They didn't know I'd be home 20 minutes after I texted the address, I gave myself extra time and said 2pm)
Then, discovering they weren't able to, they just stole the parcels out of spite? I mean, they had no idea I was going to have parcels delivered, so stealing parcels can't have been the agenda. If they were planning a break in, why not give themselves more time and ask for the address earlier? Or is there another scam that revolves around getting someones address? They had neither my name nor phone number. (My facebook profile is an alias specifically for marketplace).
OR
Is this all a giant coincidence and a passerby stole them in the time between delivery (10am) and me getting home (1:30pm). As I said, I often see my and my neighbours parcels left out visibly in the open all day and we've never had anything stolen before, but there's always a first time.
I have asked all the neighbours, and nobody has the parcels or saw anything.
I have also been in touch with Aus Post and eBay, and have lodged missing parcels cases. I don't expect to get either the parcels or my money back (though would appreciate advice on how I could, if it is a possibility. One was paid with creditcard, the other paypal - do they offer reimbursements?).
So, what's the consensus? Scam or coincidence? Give up, or follow through to the end of the mystery, Miss Marple style?
Get a load of Picasso over here. That image is too good for us.