Empty Package in the Mail? You’re Not the Target—But It’s Still a Scam.
Apr 09, 2025 10:05AM ● By Jen Gennaro
Last week, I received a package at my home that immediately raised a red flag. The return address listed a person and place I didn’t recognize. It came in a small 5x7 bubble mailer and felt practically empty. I carefully cut it open, just in case there was something minuscule inside that might fall out.
There was nothing inside.
I asked my husband if he was expecting anything—it’s not unusual for him to order specialty seeds for the garden that arrive similarly packaged. Nope, he wasn’t.
The very next day, an identical package from the same return address arrived. Again, it was completely empty. I checked my USPS Daily Digest, which tracks incoming deliveries. Sure enough, the package had a valid tracking number and showed it had been shipped via Pitney Bowes, a major logistics company that partners with USPS.
At this point, I figured it had to be some kind of scam—but what kind?
It didn’t take long to stumble into a Reddit thread that explained everything.
“Yes, it's a scam but you are not the target. Scammers on eBay and other sites will send an empty package to a random house in the buyer’s ZIP. That way they can show a tracking number with a 'delivered' status when the buyer opens a dispute. You don't need to do anything,” wrote one commenter.
According to the thread, this tactic is becoming more common on eBay and Facebook Marketplace. The scammer collects payment for an item, ships an empty envelope to someone—anyone—in the buyer’s ZIP code, and then uses the tracking data to falsely prove the item was delivered. The real buyer ends up out of pocket, while the scammer disappears with the money.
The USPS has also issued warnings about similar schemes. One variation is known as “Brushing.” In this version, recipients get packages they never ordered, often containing inexpensive or random items. Here’s how it works:
"The sender of the item(s) is usually an international, third-party seller who has found the recipient’s address online. The intention is to give the impression that the recipient is a verified buyer who has written positive online reviews of the merchandise, meaning: they write a fake review in your name. These fake reviews help to fraudulently boost or inflate the products’ ratings and sales numbers, which they hope results in an increase of actual sales in the long-run. Since the merchandise is usually cheap and low-cost to ship, the scammers perceive this as a profitable pay-off."
Recently, the USPS notes, scammers have added a new twist: quishing, or QR code phishing. Sometimes, a card with a QR code is included in these unsolicited packages. Curious recipients may scan the code hoping to figure out who sent it—but it leads to a fraudulent site instead.
"These websites look legitimate and seemingly are from and appear to be official sites of banks, government organizations, or other institutions. But they are actually scams or fake sites used by criminals to get your personal identifiable information (PII),” warns the USPS.
If you receive one of these strange packages, you’re under no obligation to keep or pay for it. You can toss it, keep it, or simply write “Return to Sender” and drop it back in the mail.
But whatever you do—don’t scan the QR code.
