Some seeds have arrived in the mail ....

[MadamFlutterby]

I've just received this package. I havent ordered any seeds. Complete mystery.

However, I have an order thru Ebay for some fabric which hasn't yet arrived. I try my best to buy from only UK suppliers but I've noticed when going into the order details that this order has slipped through my radar .

Am I to assume I've been scammed? I've tried to contact the seller to ask where my fabric is but so far no reply.

Not a huge amount of money - but that's not the point.

What do I do next? Plant the seeds and hope they grow into some lovely 100% cotton fabric?

Actually, I'd ordered some camoflage fabric ..... maybe , just maybe, it might??????

Is this a known scam?

It is a known scam: www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/seeds-china-usda-china-gardners-a9651966.html

Theres a article going round about seeds, google it, don't touch them, dont plant them it's been on news here on scotland

There was an article about this in the Guardian last week. The government’s environment advisers are asking people to report this and warning not to plant them or anything.

Here is the story - there is a link at the bottom saying who to report it to ...

www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/01/mystery-seed-parcels-world-biosecurity-china-uk-us

DO NOT PLANT THEM.

Don't even throw them away. Advice has been to BURN them safely as no one has any idea what they are and could wreck the UK ecosystem.

Sounds very dramatic but that's the advice. Lots of people have been posted random seeds.

I'd be planting those bad boys out of curiosity. Day of the Triffids, etc.

Goodness me!

Thankyou for the link - I've reported it. Will come back and let you know if anything further happens.

Some bloke in Florida planted them and got massive vegetables of some kind. The US government took them away to do experiments on! :o

Here is the reply to my email

Thank you for your enquiry, we can confirm that your email has been received, we are experiencing high volumes of enquiries at this time and aim to respond within 7 working days.

If your are emailing us about the receipt of unsolicited seeds, we would be grateful if you could retain the packets of seeds with the original envelope/package that the seeds were mailed in. Please do not plant the seeds. We will respond to your email in due course, in the interim please forward any packets of seeds with the original envelope/packaging and any other information where possible to the below address:

Paul Bratby
APHA-PHSI
2nd Floor
Apex Court
City Link
Nottingham
NG2 4LA

The seeds will be destroyed by us on your behalf.

If you have planted any of the seeds that you have received, please dig up any plants, double bag them and dispose of them in your household waste bin so that they can be disposed of in an authorised Landfill site.

It seems harmless enough doesn't it but the caution around all the reporting is sort of making me think of sci fi TV show vibes. Like they look like these ordinary seeds but they are actually some alien species which will eat you alive.

The ones I saw on the American news looked like citrus,

It's a brushing thing. Chinese sellers send out the cheapest items they have so they can legitimately mark something as sold and more importantly leave themselves fake, glowing feedback.

I imagine there is a big push on it now as Chinese sellers have suffered a bit through the pandemic and want to push sales figures up. It's nothing ominous, just a way of faking feedback and sales.

Obviously all that said don't plant the seeds.

I received some today too. Reported it to [email protected]