Just when you thought 2020 could not get any stranger: packets of seeds are showing up uninvited in the mailboxes of people around the world<\/p>\n
Hi there, here we go again, ready for another Plain English lesson, this time number 287. Today is Thursday, August 20, 2020. That means there are only 133 days left in this most bizarre year. Another day, another strange story from 2020: people around the world are opening their mailboxes to find unexpected, unwanted packets of seeds in envelopes sent from Asia. Our expression is \u201cturn in,\u201d and JR, our producer, has a song of the week.<\/p>\n
Surprise! Residents of the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Europe have all gone to their mailboxes in the last few weeks and found an unexpected package. In most cases, the package is labeled as something they did not order\u2014hardware, toys, jewelry or things like that. On the outside is mysterious Chinese lettering. The packages originate in China, Singapore, Taiwan or Malaysia. <\/p>\n
When they open the package, the unsuspecting residents find small packets of unidentified seeds in various shapes, sizes, and colors. This has caused alarm among people who worry that the seeds may contain either biological weapons or invasive species. <\/p>\n
So what are they? The US Department of Agriculture has investigated the seeds that have arrived in American mailboxes. Their first concern was that the seeds contain some type of biological weapon: a pathogen intended to either harm humans directly or to spread disease among crops and damage the food supply. The second concern was that they might be an invasive species.<\/p>\n
The US Department of Agriculture examined the shape, size and color of the seeds, and also performed gene testing to know for sure what they are. The packets sent to Americans include mustard, cabbage, mint, sage, rosemary, lavender, hibiscus, roses\u2014but nothing malicious. (Unless you think rosemary is malicious: I hate it!)<\/p>\n
It does not appear, at least from the initial testing, that the seeds were coated in any type of pesticide, pathogen, chemical or anything else nefarious. So can you toss the seeds out, or even plant them in your garden? Experts say no; if you get the seeds in the mail, you should turn them in to your local department of agriculture. The seeds that you get may not be native to your area and could be considered an invasive species\u2014even if they are generally safe.<\/p>\n
The worry is legitimate. The world has many diverse kinds of plants and animals\u2014seeds from a plant in one part of the world could damage the environment if unexpectedly planted in another part of the world.<\/p>\n
For example, a plant may be eaten by a local animal in one part of the world, limiting its growth there. But if that plant grows somewhere else, and if no animals are there to eat it, it may grow out of control. In that case, it may choke off other plant species that nearby animals do need to eat. So a plant that could be perfectly innocent in its own habitat could quickly become a problem if introduced into a foreign habitat. That\u2019s why it\u2019s often illegal to bring plants, seeds, and even plant products across country borders.<\/p>\n
What reason could anyone have for mailing packets of seeds around the world? If it\u2019s not bioterrorism, then what reason could someone have for mailing thousands of seed packets to people who didn\u2019t order them\u2014and who didn\u2019t pay for them? It could very well be an internet scam. But who is getting scammed?<\/p>\n
There is a type of scam called \u201cbrushing\u201d and it is intended to give an advantage to small businesses that sell on large platforms like Etsy. If you are starting a business selling on Etsy, you have no reviews of your product. But you can\u2019t easily forge the reviews because you don\u2019t have any confirmed customers. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s where the scam comes in. The business owner steals the personal information of consumers around the world. The business owner then places a fake order in the name of those consumers, pays for the goods on the platform with the company\u2019s own money, ships the order to the customer\u2019s address, and then fakes a review in that unsuspecting \u201ccustomer\u2019s\u201d name. For a review to be posted and authenticated on Etsy, it has to come from a legitimate customer. <\/p>\n
If a shipment has been made via a post office with a tracking number, then Etsy believes the customer has received the product, especially since there is a delivery confirmation. The product being reviewed could be anything\u2014it wouldn\u2019t have to be the same thing that is in the package; ping-pong balls are also used for the same purpose because they\u2019re cheap to make and lightweight.<\/p>\n
The person who gets the product in the mail doesn\u2019t lose any money. The scammer just needed a name and a shipping address to send any package that would not be returned. Since the product is cheap then the scammer doesn\u2019t lose that much money and they can then fake hundreds of \u201cverified\u201d (air-quotes) reviews.<\/p>\n
I should point out that this is really only a problem for people who get their mail delivered. I get mail delivered maybe two days a week\u2014that\u2019s if I\u2019m lucky. I subscribe to two weekly magazines and they arrive at least a week late every week\u2014I get emails about new issues before the previous ones even arrive. This coronavirus is too much for the local postal service, I guess.<\/p>\n
I have not gotten the seeds, you\u2019ll be relieved to know, even on those rare occasions when the mail does arrive. The scammers know better. They know I can\u2019t keep a plant alive so they just skipped me!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In 2020\u2019s latest curveball, mysterious seed packages are showing up in mailboxes around the world. The US Department of Agriculture has been investigating the seeds to determine if they are some type of biological weapon, or just the latest scam. Whatever they are, don\u2019t plant them! Plus, what you need to know about brushing scams and the phrasal verb \u2018turn in.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":6948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"lesson_category":[30],"lesson_number":[864],"terminology_tag":[],"content_tag":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n