So my buddy tried to ship me what I think was a pretty large package of beer. Given that my last friend to ship me stuff had a bottle of Hopslam burst, I tried to make sure he packed it well. Regardless, within hours of getting the text that he had shipped it, I'm getting a call from my mother (whose house I have not lived in for a few years) that the postal inspector has called her about a leaking package addressed to me (at my address ~3000 miles away). After she calls me, I noticed I had a voicemail from a different inspector, but he basically said the same thing. What it amounted to is that due to homeland security, they needed my approval to ship a package that was leaking. It sure seems that all I have to do is say 'yes, please send the package anyway' and I'm in the clear. There was no mention of what's in it. What I'm having a hard time understanding (same with my mom and dad), is how the hell the post office got both my cell phone number and my parents' home phone number. Even stranger, they never contacted the guy who actually sent it to me. Has anyone dealt with this, or at least do you have any idea how they have my phone number + can link me to my old house? Sure I know that the government has all this info somewhere, but it really surprises me that within just a few hours of shipping that the post office could piece all of that together. I still need to talk to the post office, and my inclination is just to have them return the package to my friend. Any thoughts/experiences?
So you want to know how the government got your info after a being involved in a homeland security issue... that involved a package... that was leaking?? Think about it for a minute. They passed it to someone with clearance and he looked it up. Once the words "homeland security" are used, they can look up whatever the hell they want to look up. An overeaction from our point of view but certainly not from theirs! Hope you get your box.
Please send this link, or use it yourself, whenever shipping beer http://alewatcher.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-trader-tips.html
Similar thing happened to me, but I had shipped the box (my first time ever shipping, so forgive my stupidity, although the problem was a cap that completely blew off a 750 bottle). Michigan post office called me at 5:30am to tell me a box I shipped was leaking, and demanding to know what was in it. They were quite relieved to find out it was only beer, and allowed the recipient to pick it up, but apparently the guy at the post office who brought it out to him was wearing a HazMat suit! They take that stuff VERY seriously now, so you should too
Seriously?...theres a guy hiding out in Russia seeking amnesty from 20 different countries that has been explaining the answer to that question for the past 2 weeks.
Yeah, at this point I'm just assuming they have a giant map of every BA trade that has ever happened.
I might change my tune on the NSA if they're able to tell me what this Toppling Goliath stuff is actually trading for.
I read the title of this tread and thought to myself "shipping via USPS IS a twist". Seriously OP, what cavedave said.
The resolution: my buddy has 30 days to pick it up, and I don't think there are any legal issues to worry about. The inspector suspected it was beer, and mentioned the whole reason they existed was due to the shipping of anthrax back around '01. He was incredibly cordial, congratulated me for graduating college and getting out of MI (was shipped from my college town), and said he would call my mom to apologize for freaking her out. Agreed with all of the advice. Stupid to ship via USPS, but it always worked when I shipped people stuff, so they tried to do the same. Thanks for that AleWatcher link... won't ship again without it. Obviously I understand that big brother is keeping tabs on everyone, but the NSA stuff is a pretty far stretch. I really just want to know what the sequence of events was. The weird thing is they never contacted the guy who sent it, who has a pretty foreign name. Anyway, lesson(s) learned.
