Bizarre 'gift' in resident's letterbox prompts urgent scam warning
The woman wore gloves to retrieve the suspicious parcel from her letterbox.
Health authorities have issued an important scam warning to residents in one major city after a woman found a bizarre gift in her letterbox and was forced to wear gloves while handling it in case its contents were "poisonous". She has since reportedly had a physical reaction and now a hazmat operation is underway.
The Sydney woman explained she opened up her letterbox this week in Blacktown, located in the city's west, and found an object wrapped in cloth with a note on it. On the note it read, 'A hand-crafted gift and personal remedial therapy for you and your family' and 'compliments of Our Father' appears in handwriting.
It claimed to be from NSW Health Services Incentive, as well as a religion, and included phone numbers and an email address.
The woman immediately felt like something was off and reached out to other Aussies online to question whether the gift was "nefarious" or not.
"Attached is a note around remedial therapy, contact details for NSW Health and a religious sign off," she wrote. "I hesitate to call the number provided or email as it could be some info collecting scam
"I'm wondering if anyone has received anything similar or knows what it is? I have thrown it away but I'm curious to know what it is all about."
Aussies were quick to share the woman's suspicions and said it "reeks of a scam", praising her for wearing gloves and binning the parcel which the woman described as a "hard orange thing".
NSW Health call out 'cards and packages' as scam
After word of the unusual delivery spread, NSW Health issued a warning about the "cards and packages", confirming it did not send these out and it is indeed a scam.
NSW Health is aware that cards and packages have been placed in letterboxes in some homes in Sydney falsely claiming to be a ‘gift’ and ‘remedial therapy’ from NSW Health. pic.twitter.com/E1nB1FSZW5
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 5, 2024
"NSW Health is aware that cards and packages have been placed in letterboxes in some homes in Sydney falsely claiming to be a 'gift' and ‘remedial therapy’ from NSW Health," it wrote on X. "NSW Health will never leave 'gifts' in your letterbox."
NSW Health reported the matter to police.
Hazmat operation now underway at Sydney home
A hazmat operation is reportedly underway after the woman allegedly suffered a physical reaction after opening the package, contacting authorities with concerns for her health. A neighbour took to social media to say NSW Fire and Rescue officers had been inspecting drains along the residential street and had retrieved the parcel in question from the bin.
It is understood multiple residents in the area received 'gifts', with one checking their home security footage and finding a man wheeling a fabric trolley behind him as he dotted around letterboxes.
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