Can anyone please riddle me this? This huge Toshiba microwave air fryer has been delivered to my flat in North London. I didn’t order it. It has my name (albeit spelled slightly wrong) and my full address (albeit minus the flat number) correct on it. The return address is a residential house in Borehamwood.
What is the scam? And has anyone else had this happen? I’d normally assume it's a brushing scam but looked it up and this thing sells for like £170?! Also no, there is absolutely zero chance it’s a gift. Not a single person in my life would think I want cooking equipment, much less would be trying to surprise me with it to the tune of £170.
I am v mystified.
by rebecco
40 comments
i dont know the answer, just commenting to boost this in hopes that someone knows because thats weird as fuck
Score!
Is it a good airfryer?
Scam is likely card fraud.
I don’t know the answer to your question I’m afraid but I can’t help but laugh at the title “Has anyone else?” As if gifted expensive air fryers are the norm in London or something
You can make a show for Channel 5 now!!
The air fryer cult gets to everyone eventually.
Please can we get a ‘someone sent me an airfryer’ compo face pic?
Dunno mate, but do you want to swap it for the baby walker DHL delivered to me in error yesterday?
I’m old enough to remember how people would react to a suspicious package in this city…
It is a scam. I don’t know how this one works but they are probably trying to gain access to your information. I googled it and found this alert
[Got a package you didn’t order? It’s probably a scam | Consumer Advice](https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/01/got-package-you-didnt-order-its-probably-scam)
Is it actually what it says in the box? Are you actually now a drug mule?
Check your bank – credit card statements.
Probably is a scam. I say left it in the box and store it in a corner. Not sure what kind of scam this is, could be the want you to return it. So don’t.
What’s inside it? I went through a year of receiving random crap from eBay returns. Someone was sending out stuff in my name using an old hacked eBay account and I would get sent the returns. Things like metal flower pots rickety clothes rails, complete crap. Took eBay forever to figure out what was going on and close that account after me nagging. It could be something similar 🤷♂️
My guess is that someone you know well has had their phone stolen, and your address is stored in a website as a delivery address.
My elderly parents once received a large grocery delivery worth hundreds of pounds, which was totally baffling. The mystery was solved a week later when my ex got in touch to explain – their phone had been stolen and the thief made several random but banal purchases for delivery to known addresses, to disguise more unusual purchases.
Have you taken out any phone contracts or similar that come with a free gift?
I had similar happen to me once, about 6 months after taking out a contract they sent me an air fryer, an amazon echo and some security cameras.
That’s a fantastic microwave.
It’s an inverter microwave. It’s different to a normal microwave in that when you choose a lower power, it actually uses a lower wattage instead of turning the element off and on which normal microwaves do. They’re also lighter!
I have the standard version from Toshiba without the airfryer and it’s great.
My only guess is you ordered something else and they slapped your label on the wrong parcel.
I used to live in Champion Hill in East Dulwich. There was another Champion Hill in the same area. My deliveries used to get mixed up with the same house number in the other Champion Hill. Could it be that there are two streets of the same name and by a huge coincidence your namesake lives at the other street?
Does that royal mail postage label match the item?
It’s not impossible for the wrong sticker to have been put on the wrong parcel.
Wake up sheep
It’s Big Micro wanting to spy on you and your frying habits
Make sure to check inside for Greek warriors before bringing it into the house.
I’ve seen something similar online recently where a dodgy retailer was giving someone else’s address as a returns address, so this person was getting lots of returned items they didn’t want. But I have no idea how or why that is a good thing for the dodgy retailer.
(I think it was in the US, and this woman had a mountain of boxes suddenly arriving containing cat fountains or something.)
OP are you sure this isn’t a drunk purchase?
What is the brushing scam and how does it work please? Twice recently I’ve received expensive items which I didn’t order however they were from reputable established retailers and I did order something, just something else. Thanks
Edited for clarity
I’ve had something different and strange happen. Two items arrived from Amazon about a week apart (phone holder and coffee filters). My address and post code. Not my name – and two different (Indian) names on the orders. I contacted Amazon and they said I could keep or throw away the items and they will take steps to make sure it didn’t happen again. Didn’t explain how it could have happened. It was definitely not any of my neighbours. So still unclear how it happened. No fraudulent transactions on any of my cards.
Tbh I got an insta pot dropped off yesterday…didn’t order that… still gonna enjoy it though
“Has anyone else?” As if it’s just a thing that happens is the funniest thing I’ll read today, thanks for that. Enjoy your new air fryer!
Put it in a cupboard and forget about it for a while, incase its scam. If n ones asks for it then keep it,
Postie here and also interested in this. Only thing I can see is the item was originally an Amazon order (yellow label) and the RM label appears to be stuck over another dispatch label. Us posties will generally try and get the item to you as we know most people on our rounds.
As the item was sent standard 2nd class, there’s no visible GPS scan or photo for the sender. Sometimes people send stuff to work out where you actually live.
Next time you get one, just tell the postie to RTS it and you refuse it. The item will eventually go back to the sender, don’t get me wrong though, as a postie I’d be pissed off having to lug it back to the van but would fully get your situation.
All the best 👍
now go to iceland and get something to heat up
I got 48 rolls of toilet paper from Amazon once.
I assume you have neighbours in the building, any chance someone in the building could have swiped a new credit card addressed to you and is buying goods on it with the aim of snatching the delivery before you see it arrive? The missing flat number and misspelt name could be a ploy to obfuscate enough so that they can nab it. This has happened in our building before.
Have you ordered anything else online lately? I had similar happen once. I ordered something from a toy shop which was delivered alongside a ninja cooker (not ordered) but both had the same shipping label, order number etc. like it was printed twice and stuck on the wrong item 2nd time.. but I couldn’t trace it back to the intended recipient and the courier didnt help at all!
Possibly identity fraud. Someone may have used your details to get credit (eg credit card, store credit account) and buy things. Hence why your address isn’t 100% correct (ie no flat number)
Check with Experian, ClearScore, etc that there are no accounts linked to you that you don’t recognise
Is air fryer distribution system the new cat distribution system?
Sometimes this happens if you have been the victim of identify theft. Normally, the fraudsters will try to intercept the package before it is delivered. Do a credit check.
When I was at uni, the 75 year old head of the film studies center one day received Jonas Brothers tickets concerts in the mail. Everyone was deeply confused.
Turned out someone had stolen his identity/card info but forgotten to change the shipping address.
This happened to me a couple years ago! It was some sort of outdoor pavement power washer. I checked with everyone else in the flats, checked my bank for scams, contacted Amazon customer service and in the end nothing came of it – so I sold it on fb marketplace! No consequences 5 years later
Check your credit report. Something similar happened to me with a dyson hairdryer. Someone had opened a line of credit in my name and bought something for exactly the limit of the first purchase. I think they intended to change the address and sell it online. If they had done that I would have been oblivious until the repayment letters arrived
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