50 Surprisingly Bizarre Items Delivered To People's Doorsteps

With the rise of online shopping, the number of residential deliveries has increased significantly. Reports suggest there has been a 150% surge in global parcel volume. It skyrocketed from 64 billion parcels in 2016 to 161 billion in 2022. Whether it’s groceries or gadgets, people now rely on home delivery services for a wide range of items.

Among the major couriers, Amazon Logistics shipped 4.8 billion packages in 2022. To put that into perspective: Every single day, they dispatched 13.2 million packages, which is roughly equivalent to 547,945 per hour, 9,132 per minute and 152 per second. In 2022, the global average for parcels shipped per person was 42.

One of the major concerns for many online shoppers is whether their parcel will arrive late, or worse, not show up at all. However, as you can see from the pictures, some people are posed with a strange issue: they receive stuff they never ordered, including face creams, random pieces of jewelry and rubber chickens in the mail. While it’s delightful to get quirky packages from friends and family, it's important to be careful about unexpected deliveries.

A fraudulent activity that you should be aware of is called the brushing scam. Here’s how it works: Scammers create fake transactions by sending cheap items to random addresses. This generates a tracking number, allowing them to post verified reviews without really sending the advertised product.

So while individuals are not typically charged for these unordered items, the seller benefits by creating fake reviews for their products using the receiver's name and account. It's a method used to boost seller ratings and deceive potential buyers.

“The real losers here are the consumers who are possibly believing many of these fake positive reviews, or this artificial padding of reviews, because they might see 100 positive reviews, and then there may only be 60 or 70 of them that are legitimate,” Chris McCabe, consultant and former Amazon policy enforcement investigator, was quoted saying.

Sometimes, scams begin before you even receive the package. Scammers trick people by sending bogus emails or texts. Even though these messages appear to be from reputable shipping companies, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises consumers to avoid clicking on unsolicited links. They suggest people check the package status on trusted sites, and speak up if something seems fishy.

Such scams are more prevalent during the holiday season. People receive messages claiming they missed a delivery attempt. You are asked to click on a link to reschedule the delivery. Sometimes the scammers even try to create a sense of urgency by asking you to do it right away or else your package will be returned. However, when you click and enter your details, the fake website captures your personal information, which could be later used to steal your identity.