A Virginia woman named Cindy Smith recently found herself in a peculiar situation when she received over 100 Amazon packages that she didn’t order. The packages contained a surprising assortment of items, including 1,000 headlamps, 800 glue guns, and numerous kids’ binoculars. Smith’s confusion grew as the boxes continued to pile up outside her home in Prince William County.
“It’s a lot of packages,” Smith told CBS affiliate station WUSA. “I didn’t order them.”
Upon further investigation, Smith discovered that the packages were addressed to a name she didn’t recognize – Lixiao Zhang. This led her to suspect that she might be a victim of a “brushing” scam, where e-commerce sellers send unsolicited packages to individuals and post fake positive reviews on their behalf to boost their ratings on online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.
However, it appears that Smith’s situation is linked to a different kind of vendor scheme. WUSA traced the return packaging labels to 15 fulfillment centers in nine different states, suggesting that sellers are attempting to remove unsold merchandise from Amazon warehouses. CJ Rosenbaum, a founding partner at the New York law firm Rosenbaum Famularo, explained that sellers in China choose random addresses to send their unwanted products as it is a cheaper alternative for them.
Amazon confirmed that the seller account responsible for these packages violated their policies and has since been closed. An Amazon spokesperson stated, “There is no place for fraud at Amazon, and we will continue to pursue all measures to protect our store and hold bad actors accountable.”
As an environmental science professor, Smith didn’t want the items to go to waste, so she took matters into her own hands. She drove around town distributing the items to neighbors, dog shelters, veterinary clinics, and even surprised employees at Burger King with unexpected gifts.
“All my neighbors got glue guns or headlamps,” Smith shared. “I gave them to dog shelters, to veterinary clinics. I went to Burger King one day, and I was like, ‘I have a gift for you.'”
Despite the unusual circumstances, Smith’s resourcefulness and generosity turned a potentially frustrating situation into a heartwarming act of kindness.