Originally published on Huron Daily Tribune
UNIONVILLE — A Unionville woman recently suffered injuries after opening a package she received in the mail.
According to the woman’s post on social media, she received a package in the mail that she didn’t order. Curious of its contents, she opened the package and a white powder went airborne near her face.
The woman stated that the powder irritated her nose, esophagus, elevated her blood pressure and caused her a headache. When talking to the police, the woman told them the powder smelled like bleach.
The package was turned over to the Michigan State Police for further investigation.
MSP Sgt. Don Pisha, of the Caro Post, said all of the writing on the package and its contents appeared to be written in Chinese. MSP personnel attempted to perform a test of the package contents without opening the package, but the results came back inconclusive.
Upon further examination of the package, some English was found on the package in extremely small print that stated effervescent sanitizing tablets, Pisha said.
Troopers were able to determine that the tablets are manufactured to be added to water and produce a cleaning solution.
“We don’t know how or why it was sent to her house,” Pisha said.
Across the country earlier this year there were warnings issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding mysterious seed packages that were arriving in people’s mailboxes.
In a press release from the post, Pisha said the post has seen an increase of suspicious packages being delivered to homes throughout the Upper Thumb.
“I have personally seen random items sent to people,” Pisha said. “We have seen a lot of packages come from overseas.”
Pisha said the MSP has discovered many of these unsolicited packages can be the result of hackers or scammers accessing personal date via online retail accounts.
“If you receive items in the mail under suspicious circumstances, the state police recommends checking all of your online retail and financial accounts to check for unauthorized activity,” Pisha said in the release. “If you find your account has been compromised, contact the affected institutions right away and have your accounts closed as soon as possible.”
Pisha said with the upcoming holiday season, criminal activity is in full force and online fraud and identity theft cases are on the rise. The MSP recommends using a reputable credit monitoring service to for added security.
According to Pisha, the packages have contained mostly harmless items such as home goods, cleaning supplies, small electronics and even personal accessories.
“The MSP wants to remind residents to be extremely caution and to avoid opening any packages originating from overseas, especially if you have not placed any recent online orders from sellers outside the U.S.,” Pisha said in the release.
Pisha said it is important for anyone that receives an unsolicited package, especially from overseas or looks suspicious, to contact the Michigan State Police Caro Post at 989-673-2156 and troopers will collect the package for testing.
Pisha said in the circumstance of the Unionville woman, it was determined that she was not the target of any malicious attack and that she is not in any further danger.
