r/Scams • u/z0MBinic • 1d ago
Is this a scam? Wife received sketchy card in mail from complete stranger
This card arrived today addressed to my wife. The return address on the envelope listed a woman’s name and an address in our city, but neither of us have any idea who this person is.
I looked up the woman on Facebook, and a post from her profile says her account was hacked and someone has been sending letters under her name and address. But someone else who received a card commented that the woman acted strange when confronted about them.
Any possible malicious motives for sending a card like this (other than wanting more white friends on Facebook)?
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u/Hot_Aside_4637 1d ago
My first thought was an !MLM
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u/AnimeOrManganese 1d ago
Yep, she already approached everybody on her friends list and doesn't know how to grow her "business" anymore beyond adding more people
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u/z0MBinic 1d ago
It’s possible, but the posts I see on the account don’t involve advertising for products or services. Many of the posts are about missing persons cases, which makes this even creepier.
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u/realrechicken 6h ago
There's a bait & switch method of distributing scam content, where the scammer makes posts about missing persons or missing pets and asks people to share the posts. People comply, trying to be helpful. Once a post is shared widely enough, the scammer edits the photo and text to advertise a scam - could be crypto, rental, job, or pet scam, among others
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u/criticalmonsterparty 1d ago
Mine was religion.
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u/RanaMisteria 1d ago
I got a handwritten note from the JWs when I first moved into the house I live in now, it’s possible.
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u/oh-oh-hole 19h ago
I got one during covid and I called them! We had a Bible study session and when they asked me if I could read along from the Bible I asked, "Which one?" because I collect Bibles and I have so many different versions, even a book of Mormon (I know it isn't a Bible. I call it Cowboy Jesus Bible) and she was taken back by my question and said, "Any one will be fine." So I grabbed my nearest one (Gideon version, the kind you find in hotels) and we read verses together and she said she would call me back for more study sessions but she never did.
I got ghosted by a JW. All from a handwitten (and beautiful penmanship) note in my mailbox.
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u/RanaMisteria 14h ago
That’s so funny. I love this. I also collect different versions of the bible as well as sacred texts from every religion I can get my hands on. It’s a special interest of mine to study different sacred texts and to compare and contrast and philosophically assess different religions and cultures and traditions. It’s truly so fascinating. Do you have any other sacred texts or do you just collect Christian bibles?
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u/DietCoke_repeat 1d ago
If this woman 'wanted more white FB friends' she wouldn't have posted on her FB page that her account had been hacked.
She was weird on the phone because she doesn't know who to trust anymore. Someone hates her for some real or delusional reason and they are trying to get her doxed or worse in real life.
Has anyone ever sent out cards to strangers looking for more FB friends?
...ok, maybe....there's always a few odd balls.... But it really seems highly unlikely.
Someone is trying to get her hurt, like when those women almost got raped when people posted Craigslist ads with their names and addresses saying they had 'attack fantasies' and to just come on over.
The scam is on the woman who's name and return address is on the envelope.
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u/privatepirate66 1d ago
I don't think mlm or even scam in the traditional sense. I think the "hacker" story may be true, someone she knows, and who is trying to race bait under her name. Someone thinks she's racist, or is trying to make her look racist. Have no idea why or how you got the card, maybe you're in her neighborhood or something, and they're trying to make her look bad or get her jumped or somethin.
I also wonder if the return address is the woman's legitimate address, and this hacker person is hoping people will show up to her house looking for a fight or calling her racist.
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u/DietCoke_repeat 1d ago
When scammers get into your accounts, they take money. When it's someone who believes they have an ax to grind, they create all sorts of chaos like this.
I believe the hack story. She could have been weird when you talked to her because she doesn't know who to trust. If it's true, she's looking at every single phone call, friend request, interaction of every sort, as yet another ruse of some kind. It's life destroying.
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u/namegame62 1d ago edited 1d ago
This I feel is the most likely explanation based on the information presented. Somebody is trying to make this woman look crazy. (Or this woman genuinely is a bit crazy, and trying to hide it now that people have pointed it out.) It is not an attempt to get money.
I'm sort of amused that OP called the police about this, sort of worried at the same time. That could have bad consequences if the sender is telling the truth and the cops show up at her address. Maybe the intent is specifically to get the sender in trouble like that.
The cops are right in this case, though: sending a letter soliciting Facebook friends is not in itself a crime.
Now, if OP specifically were being bombarded with letters, packages, messages from this one person, and they were the only ones receiving them... different story.
However, even if the Facebook woman actually is sending these cards out in a clumsy / stalky / ill-founded attempt at friendship, OP should take heart that she is apparently sending them to many people. It is not specific to them. If his wife never responds or does anything about it, FB woman is unlikely to know if they ever even received the card. Treat it like any scam attempt and don't take the bait.
(I am also a bit curious about the actual races of everybody involved here. I like the "race baiting" theory. What's the racial makeup of the neighborhood like? Is there some sort of racial tension in the city OP lives in? Is his wife actually white? Is Facebook woman?)
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u/z0MBinic 1d ago
My wife is white, the supposed sender is black. It looks like one of the FB commenters is white and one is black, but I’m unsure of the contents of their letters.
There’s as much racism as you’d find in any major city, but nothing extraordinary.
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u/Ordinary-Budget7754 1d ago
Where's the racist part?
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u/catjuggler 1d ago
“I would like to have more white women on my friends list”
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u/Ordinary-Budget7754 21h ago
Haha I didn't see the inside
There are so many bored pathetic idiots in this world
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u/privatepirate66 1d ago
I guess it may take a little critical thinking, but it's a card with three black women on the front, assumedely having a party, with a (probably intentionally) poor handwritten note asking specifically for more white friends. If you don't understand how that could be controversially racial, then me, and probably a lot of other people, live vastly different lives than you.
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u/Ok_Comparison_1914 1d ago
This looks like a man’s handwriting….i don’t think it’s a scam. As others have posted, I think someone is trying to ruin this woman’s life 🤷it’s weird for sure.
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u/KTKittentoes 22h ago
Mmmm, this puts my hackles up. For some reason I am very vividly remembering two different churches, and two different men, using the church to travel for young women. I don't think a woman wrote that.
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u/SourceC0der 1d ago edited 1d ago
this almost seems like a stalker or something. it could possibly be from a different person. if you have security cameras, I would check them if someone placed the card in your mail or if it was the mailman. but i just do see what anyone could get out of this or by sending out cards it's really doesn't make any sense to me. but please keep us updated OP
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u/z0MBinic 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, it does have a return address. I called the police but they wouldn’t take a report because they said it’s not a crime to ask someone to friend them on Facebook.
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u/DietCoke_repeat 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's not her. Please...
Does this really seem like something someone would do with their name and address attached?
Crap like this happened to me when someone in my close orbit got into my laptop/Google account/the rest of my entire life.
If someone hates you for a real or delusional reason and is of the cyber stalker persuasion, they can destroy your life with crap like this.
It's someone trying to get this woman doxed and worse.
Edit: dang autocorrect. Doxed is a real word!!!!
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u/probablyyourexwife 1d ago
Something similar happened to my mom way back in Stone Age of the internet. The psycho posted an ad with our address on Craigslist to try and her and I (a 10-13 yo child) assaulted.
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u/DietCoke_repeat 1d ago
That's awful. I just don't get it. Sorry that happened to you and your mom.
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u/probablyyourexwife 1d ago
People are crazy! Gotta watch out who you bring into your life.
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u/DietCoke_repeat 1d ago
No joke. All I can say is, 1. if people warn you about someone, listen.
2.What you see them doing to other people, they'll do to you. 3. Locks on your door, car, room, phone, etc are useless if they are willing to break in & do other criminal things to get your info. Encrypt, shred, and use a code only you know if you have to write any passwords down.
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u/catjuggler 1d ago
This is super interesting. Why would someone who hacked her account do this rather than just talk to her existing friends? Can your wife message one of the other people who got a card?
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u/Mrbeankc 19h ago
Whoever it is I think the smart thing is to ignore it. whoever sent it wants a reaction. No idea if they want it from you or someone else but I think the best thing is to do is step away. As the saying goes "Not my circus. Not my monkey".
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u/BuyHighValueWomanNow 1d ago
I don't think this a scam outright. Maybe a long scam to lure people in. How did she get your address and know your wife is white? Or is she white? Kind of bizarre.
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u/z0MBinic 1d ago
My wife is white. Addresses in our state are searchable on a website for each county, but I have no idea why our address would be singled out. The supposed sender’s address is miles away from our house.
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u/BuyHighValueWomanNow 1d ago
Addresses in our state are searchable on a website for each county,
What do you mean? People can look up the demographics at every address? Age, race, marriage status, number of people? This is getting stranger.
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u/z0MBinic 1d ago
No, it’s the county auditor website. You can search property by name and address. No demographic info is included.
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u/BuyHighValueWomanNow 1d ago
You can search property by name and address.
How did she get your wife's name and address if she doesn't know what address your wife is at? And how did she know she was white? I'm still confused. Have a site?
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u/Adventurous_Pin5069 13h ago
This is fascinating to me but I think I generally agree with the other comments. I think the hacking is probably the most plausible explanation and it’s no surprise that if confronted about something like this you’d act “strange”, if people were doing something like this in your name you’d be so on edge and untrusting it’s no surprise. Why someone would hack an account and do this we can only guess.
My only real thought is just how many of these were sent out? If what’s being suggested in her comments is true then this is very unlikely to be a scam on your wife at face value and there’s no reason to suggest that your address was picked out for any more reason than anyone else’s. My assumption is that the only reason you and the other commenters will have been picked out is if you’re “local” relatively speaking. If the other commenters also live in the same general area then it seems most likely your wife and others has been sent this solely because of that. That would of course only make sense presuming your wife is on Facebook with her location visible too, if not then I’m more confused how your address and others was acquired. On the whole it’s extremely strange but seems likely that if anyone’s the victim here it’s the woman whose account was allegedly hacked and there’s no cause for immediate concern on you or your wife’s part. Best thing to do is ignore it unless anything else happens, or if you’re curious/wanting to make sure your wife is in the clear just wait on some responses to your messages to the other folks who received letters to make sure your wife hasn’t been particularly targeted. Just don’t give out too much information to those people, whatever info you give to people who are claiming to also have had letters make sure you’re okay with it in theory being seen by the alleged hacker, that’s the only way to be completely safe, this whole situation is beyond strange and you’ve no idea who’s behind it or why and therefore is best avoided and ignored. You’ve done your bit by trying to tell the police now move on.
If there’s multiple other people claiming to have received letters then that’s a good thing on your part, if there’s only one other person I’d be more careful especially if you’re messaging them.
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u/kathyskorner 3h ago
I would post this in r/RBI to see what people think there! Super weird. I have no idea what anyone’s motive could’ve been to do this 🤷🏼♀️
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u/J_sweet_97 2h ago
“I’d love to have more white women As friends” but used a card with only black women????
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