For Enfamil, other persons who reported receiving unexpected samples from Enfamil were expected or recent mothers, rather than being picked at random. Enfamil seems to have ways of getting their address in spite of never having used the Enfamil website or purchased anything from Enfamil. Other formula companies like Similac also do this, mailing free formula packages to expectant or recent mothers. An example long thread with pictures is at Received formula in the mail... should I be suspicious? - April 2021 Babies | Forums | What to Expect .
But addressed to someone else?
That is usually indicative of a brushing scam. The person it’s addressed to is usually non-existent (a made-up name).
In the article you linked, the products seem to have been received unsolicited but not addressed to someone else.
I’d lean more towards former resident, someone entered wrong address, or Enfamil purchased bad (fake) info from a data aggregation service; rather than brushing scam. Enfamil (and others) are well known for unsolicited mailing free formula to anyone they think could be a future customer, as a primary marketing strategy. I wasn’t able to find anything about Enfmail doing brushing scams with a basic search. Enfamil is a major brand with tens of thousands of real reviews, so a few brushing reviews would not have a large overall impact on the aggregate review totals.
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Not brushing by Enfamil, but by resellers on Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces. This is not uncommon among new sellers trying to establish a rating.
Anyway, I’m not going to debate this further, so I’m moving on.
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I had the same thing happen in recent years and reported it on this thread a long while back. Same last name, completely wrong first name. And I hadn’t had a kid in two decades! And it didn’t happened just once. I kept getting coupons and samples of formula for awhile. It did stop.
And I know the names of all families who lived at this house for the last 100 years. Nobody else with that name lived here.
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If you keep getting free samples over and over for a product that is not cheap, wouldn’t that point against a brushing scam? I think of brushing scams as usually shipping a cheap product once – create a few fake reviews to help the product sales get started. The key is the value of the reviews exceeds the value of the shipped product. The least expensive Emafil on Amazon is $35.
In contrast a vendor whose primary marking strategy seems to be sending unsolicited mailers with free samples to new potential customers whose name/address they bought from an unscrupulous data seller is bound to have less than 100% accuracy, so getting Emafil package addressed to a person with different first name and matching last name seems like it would happen from time to time.
2 decades old is a relatively common age to have first children, as well as a common age to live with parents. You mentioned it was addressed to a someone with a different first name. Perhaps the data aggregator mixed up the person it was addressed to with your 20+ year old child.
Does Goodwill take formula?
Not sure about Goodwill, but my local food bank takes formula.
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We have a community clearing house who takes and welcomes a lot of things other places don’t. Churches and places that are helping immigrants and homeless also welcome donations that can. e useful to their outreach.
Years ago, somebody used our credit card to order a bunch of baby stuff, like “Teach Your Baby to Read,” and the stuff came to our house. Amazon wouldn’t give me a refund, I was so annoyed. I got a new credit card number right away, of course.
M youngest is almost 30, and when I had very young children one of my credit cards was used to order very expensive baby stuff FROM me, but not to my address. IIRC, I contested it and didn’t have to pay, but it stressed me out, bc I felt like they may not believe me since I had little kids/did spend money in kid stores. I think I had to get a new card too.
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My first thought on the Enfamil situation is that someone went to a baby expo or maybe a wedding expo (those big events in a convention center with lots of vendors), filled out an entry form for some kind of “sweepstakes”, and the address got misread by someone doing manual data entry. Or do they still do that? Is all that data collection now done on an iPad or something similar? Or of course it could have been one of the other possibilities that have been suggested.
So I just got a package of Similac.
Also, FYI – the name it’s addressed to is not someone who has lived here in at least the last 25 years. We’ve been here 13 years and the previous owner was here for at least that long.
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I got a text yesterday claiming that some item I purchased from Amazon (of course they didn’t say what) was being recalled and they wanted me to follow a link to get a full refund. UM NO. Delete.
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I just got a text telling me that I had a court date about a parking/toll violation with Judge John Smith. No name, no car details and no I am not clicking on the QR code to pay it.
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I got another I owe tolls and will have to go to District court if I don’t click the link and pay right away text in the last day or so. IT LOOKS REAL, but I know it’s not.
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Two emails in spam warning me that I’m a pervert. If anyone gets this video, let me know how I look! Because my computer doesn’t have a camera. The password is an old one that I know is out on the dark web.
Your device was infected by my private malware.
An outdated browser makes you vulnerable, simply visiting a malicious website containing my iframe can result in automatic infection.
For further information search for ‘Drive-by exploit’ on Google.
My malware has granted me full access to your accounts, complete control over your device, and the ability to monitor you via your camera.
If you believe this is a joke, no, I know your password: XXXXXX
I have collected all your private data and RECORDED FOOTAGE OF YOU MASTRUBATING THROUGH YOUR CAMERA!
To erase all traces, I have removed my malware.
If you doubt my seriousness, it takes only a few clicks to share your private video with friends, family, contacts, social networks, the darknet, or to publish your files.
You are the only one who can stop me, and I am here to help.
The only way to prevent further damage is to pay exactly $2800 in Bitcoin (BTC).
This is a reasonable offer compared to the potential consequences of disclosure.
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ICK! Very very disturbing email! I’m sorry you are plagued! I like putting a post-it note over my camera when it isn’t in use.
Wow, this oldie is still floating around? Almost every one of us at my old employer got a variant of this back in the pre-pandemic era! We all just laughed. The PW included was some gibberish no one was using.
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I got something like that email once upon a time. They even complimented my taste in porn.
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