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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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A man’s mysterious envelope has stunned social-media users after his girlfriend shared the baffling discovery online.
Posted by u/shreksusedundies on October 21, the viral Reddit post quickly gained over 11,000 upvotes in less than 24 hours. The photo shows an envelope with the address blurred to hide the recipient’s identity, marked "tracked and insured" by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)—and the surprising contents inside.
"It was filled with blank pieces of paper," wrote the poster, who said she was the girlfriend of the recipient.
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Reddit users were quick to weigh in. One highly upvoted comment, with 9,600 likes, asked: "Isn’t this an old scam where vendors send you nothing but call it a verified purchase and then write a fake review? I seem to remember something like this a few years ago."
this yellow envelope my bf got in the mail today
r/mildlyinteresting
Brushing Scam
According to the USPS, an average of 371.3 million mail pieces were processed and delivered each day in 2024—roughly 4,297 pieces every second. Among those millions, some may be harmless surprises, while others could be linked to scams like this one.
Experts warn that such strange or empty packages could be part of a brushing scam—an illegal scheme where companies send unsolicited items to random people to create fake "verified" reviews under their names.
How It Works
The postal service website explains that scammers often use publicly available addresses to ship cheap or empty packages. They then write glowing fake reviews as if the recipients were verified customers, artificially boosting product ratings and sales.
In newer versions of the scam, some packages even include QR codes—a form of quishing (QR phishing)—that direct recipients to fake websites designed to steal personal information.
Why It’s Dangerous
While an empty envelope might seem harmless, brushing scams can compromise personal data, link individuals to false reviews, or even lead to theft if criminals use an address to intercept deliveries. What appears to be "free stuff" could open the door to identity fraud or other scams.
What To Do
- Don’t scan QR codes or share personal details.
- Don’t pay for or return unsolicited items—you are not obligated to.
- Report suspicious deliveries to the retailer or relevant authorities.
- Monitor bank and online accounts for unusual activity.
Reddit Reacts
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Almost 500 users have flocked to the comments to joke, or share their theories.
"Well, you know the saying, no news is good news," posted one user.
Another commenter offered a more-unsettling theory: "If it's tracked, someone has to sign for it. This is something I've seen done by private investigators, debt collectors, or litigation servers. Often they have multiple addresses listed, so they will send certified deliveries and then examine the signatures to see if the target is at that home.
"If there are potential legal issues in either of your pasts, might want to get ready. If not, could be you're living in an old address of someone that is being investigated or litigated."
Newsweek reached out to u/shreksusedundies for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.
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