Return to Sender

For a street with just eight houses on it, my block gets more than its share of FedEx and UPS deliveries.

Truth be told, my neighbor directly across the street receives the lion’s share of those – a minimum of four per week, not to mention their weekly bottled water and online grocery shopping as well.

But the other day a FedEx truck pulled into my driveway and extracted a 6-foot tall box from the back, marched it up my front stairs and deposited on my stoop. When I asked what it was I got the standard company line from an obviously annoyed driver to the effect of “hey, I just deliver the packages I don’t ask what’s in ‘em.”

Turns out it was a plastic bumper guard to an unknown vehicle, an item I certainly did not order. I took off the shipping label and tried to contact the company only to get a message that the number was no longer in service.

I even Googled the address and discovered that a business that once occupied that space had long since moved.

It was about this time, that the F-word began creeping in – fraud. 

Back before mobile phones were everywhere and calling cards were popular, someone once “shoulder surfed” my card number and the next month I received a bill from AT&T for $800 that included hours long calls to Afghanistan and Malaysia.

In no way was I anxious to repeat that experience.

Incredibly, as I was about to check for unauthorized charges, I received a phone call from a company in California whose sales manager apologized that my order was not complete and I would soon be receiving two more packages. Apparently I was also going to be the proud owner of a pair of custom headlights.

Turns out parties unknown hacked into my American Express and charged some $600 worth of auto parts. Later, I learned from a fraud specialist at AmEx that it was delivered to my address because often those involved in schemes like these bank on the fact that no one will be home during the day, thereby making it easy to drive up and snatch any delivery left at the doorstep, particularly a 6-foot box which no matter how hard you try, cannot be wedged in a mailbox.

So, after a number of phone calls, the situation promises to be resolved – the company in California sent me a return shipping label so I can get this monstrosity out of my garage and AmEx is sending me a new card.

Each year the AICPA releases a list of top 10 technologies and information security is always at or near the top of that list. And over the past year, we’ve all read about massive credit card breaches at such companies as Target and Home Depot as well as health care provider Anthem.

But until it hits closer to home you often don’t realize how vulnerable many of us are. And for those keeping score at home, the bumper was for a 2010 Acura TSX.

If interested, make me an offer.