A woman in Virginia, USA, was left bewildered after numerous Amazon packages, addressed to someone she had never heard of, began arriving at her doorstep. Cindy Smith of Prince William County found herself inundated with boxes containing an assortment of items, including 1,000 headlamps, 800 glue guns, and dozens of children's binoculars.

The deliveries, which came from various shipping companies, became so overwhelming that they piled up on her doorstep and filled her basement. Unsure of why she was receiving these packages, Ms. Smith took it upon herself to distribute the items to anyone she could find. She drove around her town, offering headlamps and glue guns to her neighbors, dog shelters, and even Burger King employees.

The situation prompted speculation that she was a victim of the infamous "brushing scam,” where sellers send unsolicited items in order to boost their product ratings with fake positive reviews. However, it appears that Ms. Smith may have been caught up in a different scheme known as a "vendor return."

This involves sellers attempting to dispose of unsold products from Amazon's fulfillment centers by having them sent to random addresses, as it is cheaper than other disposal methods. New York Attorney CJ Rosenbaum, who represents companies selling on Amazon, explains that sellers in China may simply choose random addresses to offload their unsold goods.

Amazon acknowledged that the seller in question, Lixiao Zhang, violated their policies and has since closed their account. Amazon has robust systems in place to identify suspicious behavior by sellers and takes swift action to investigate and stop any prohibited activity.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed that they have a zero-tolerance policy for fraud and will continue to protect their store and hold bad actors accountable. While Ms. Smith's case may be an unusual occurrence, it serves as a reminder that scams and schemes can happen even with the largest online marketplace.