Residents of at least 22 U.S. states recently received packages containing seeds of various plants, with people claiming to have ordered nothing. The country's Department of Agriculture has urged recipients of such packages not to plant the seeds under any circumstances to protect the ecosystem from pests and weeds.
In most cases, China was identified as the sender country.
July 31, the agency said the parcels were safe and no parasites were found in them. However, residents were still advised to contact the authorities after receiving each strange postal shipment.
Specialists found out that the parcels came from people who had recently ordered some goods online. Presumably, this is a mail scam.
The publication of Business Insider wrote on August 1 that the seeds of mint, lavender, rose, hibiscus, sage and other herbs are used in fraud schemes so-called brushes, which create the appearance of popularity of their company. The scammers hire fake senders who calculate consumers from databases and send them absolutely unnecessary and cheap goods. The huge volume of deliveries is displayed in web services, which helps to increase the seller's rating and the ability to search his company on the Internet.
Chinese authorities have asked the U.S. Postal Service to send the labels of the shipping firms to China for investigation.
Honestly, this story gives me the creeps
