'Suspicious Package' Recipient Contact, Most Numbers Do Not Exist

Sending Using Random Addresses and Contacts
Sometimes Using '017' and '018' Numbers Discontinued 3 Years Ago
Format Difficult to Consider as Regular International Mail

There have been about 2,000 reports of suspicious overseas parcels and mail that recipients never ordered. Among these, the police estimated that most of the parcels were sent with fake phone numbers and addresses.

According to Yonhap News Agency, on the 23rd, the police obtained the recipient phone numbers of three parcels shipped and reported from overseas and attempted to call them, but all were found to be invalid numbers. Two of the three were old mobile phone numbers using the identification codes 017 and 018. Such '01X' identification codes were discontinued in South Korea along with the 2G service in 2020.

On the 20th, a package suspected to contain poison was found, and firefighters are inspecting the mail item.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

All three suspicious parcels were in yellow or black envelopes labeled "Chunghwa Post," with the sender address written as "P.O.Box 100561-003777, Taipei Taiwan." The police urged that if such parcels are found, recipients should not open them and immediately report to the nearest police station or call 112.

The recipient addresses and names were also unusual for typical international mail. The English and Korean addresses did not match, or the recipients were foreigners or had very rare surnames uncommon in Korea.

After analyzing the problematic parcels, the police concluded that most were sent by randomly writing nonexistent people as recipients along with random addresses and phone numbers. Most parcels were either empty or contained harmless items like feathers, so the police assessed there was no risk of poison attacks or other dangers. They are currently investigating a case in the Ulsan area where a recipient reported physical symptoms.

On the 20th of this month, a report was received that a parcel suspected of containing gaseous poison was delivered to a welfare facility for the disabled in Ulsan. Those who opened the mail at the time complained of arm numbness and dizziness and were taken to a hospital. However, the Defense Science Research Institute analyzed the parcel for chemical, biological, and radioactive hazardous materials and confirmed it was negative.

The police requested cooperation from Taiwanese and Chinese authorities to identify who sent the parcel delivered to Ulsan and from where. Taiwanese authorities claim that the parcel only passed through Taiwan and that the original sending location was China.

According to foreign media, Cheng Wen-tsan, Vice Premier of Taiwan, said, "The preliminary investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau found that this parcel was sent from Shenzhen, China to Taiwan as cargo mail, passed through Chunghwa Post, and then sent to South Korea." Chunghwa Post (中華郵政) corresponds to Korea Post in South Korea.

The police are considering the possibility that these parcels are part of a "brushing scam," where unordered items are sent to random recipients to manipulate sales records and ratings on overseas online shopping malls.