Unrequested seeds

Just seen this article about gardeners receiving unknown seeds in the post.

However tempting it is, don't plant them!

https://thecanadian.news/2020/07/18/hund...VBBWbSrzUQ

More info in the Comments on this old Which article. https://conversation.which.co.uk/shoppin...zon-risks/

Unbelievable! Thanks for the warning.
I’ll pass this information on to the island gardening fb group. Lots of them are newbie lockdown gardeners, that may have ordered via amazon or eBay.

An update on the mystery seeds..........
https://fortune.com/2020/08/03/china-fro...x3NzAlEqgM

I’m assuming this is one of those brushing scams used a lot to get higher @mazon rankings. I was asked once if I posted a positive review of a laptop cable I’d get a free umbrella, I did and my brolley duly arrived not all examples are sinister. I think it’s a cheap way to enter a new market for a foreign business.

I can also see how it’s a cheap way to create panic in the recipients if your intentions are simply general disruption.

Just a heads up everyone. Should you be sent these seeds you are asked to contact the following email address and let them know...taking it very seriously by the looks of it!

PlantHealth.Info@apha.gov.uk

I received a packet of seeds today with no identification, I have not ordered any seeds so haven't a clue what they are, whither flower or veg, they are from China, so a bit wary of using them. Has anyone else received free seeds from China, and did you sow them

I received a packet of seeds today with no identification, I have not ordered any seeds so haven't a clue what they are, whither flower or veg, they are from China, so a bit wary of using them. Has anyone else received free seeds from China, and did you sow them

I seem to remember hearing about this before, I'm sure someone else will have more detail

Probably a 'brushing' scam:

"In one common, modern-day form, it operates something like this: Chinese companies compete for the highest placements in search listings on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and AliExpress. Although the algorithms behind these rankings are secret, they are presumed to be affected by volume of sales and positive customer feedback. Some companies try to manipulate the rankings by inventing fake transactions. They, or most likely subcontractors, set up accounts using people’s real names and addresses. The companies then pretend to send something of value to those addresses and post fake glowing reviews under the recipients’ names.

All well and good, in its own crooked way, except that some platforms verify such transactions by requiring tracking data showing that a package has indeed traveled from the company to the customer’s address. That’s where the seeds come in. For the scam to work, a real package needs to be sent. But instead of the more valuable item the company is pretending to have sold, something cheap is substituted—hair ties, say, or plastic trinkets."

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...ng/619417/

I received a packet of seeds today with no identification, I have not ordered any seeds so haven't a clue what they are, whither flower or veg, they are from China, so a bit wary of using them. Has anyone else received free seeds from China, and did you sow them

Merged your thread with one I prepared earlier.