＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
1. Frequent Incidents of “Mysterious Plant Seeds” Being Sent from China
Recently, there have been reports of a series of incidents (or perhaps incidents) in which people have received unidentified mail from China and, upon opening it, found “mysterious plant seeds” inside. The “item name” was reportedly listed as “RING.”
The Plant Protection Station is urging anyone who receives “mysterious plant seeds” to contact their nearest Plant Protection Station (*). They also warn that the seeds may be poisonous and should never be planted.
(*) Kobe Plant Protection Station, Osaka Branch
4-10-3 Chikko, Minato-ku, Osaka 552-0021 Osaka Port Joint Government Building (TEL: 06-6571-0801)
When people called the Shenzhen, China company listed in the sender’s field, they were told, “We’re not aware of the mysterious seeds,” and “The person listed as the sender is not employed by our company.”
Regarding the fact that the “mystery seeds” are being sent by China Post, the Chinese government has stated, “China Post labels are forged, and contain many lies in the label layout and items. We will continue our investigation.”
What all those who have received “mystery seeds” have in common is that they “frequently use online shopping services such as Amazon, and have had packages delivered from China.”
Similar cases have been occurring not only in Japan, but also in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Taiwan. It appears that countries that are increasingly hostile toward China are being targeted.
According to a statement from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), this may be a “brushing scam.”
2. What is a “Brushing Scam”?
A “Brushing scam” is a type of online fraud that mass-produces fake reviews.
I previously wrote about “stealth marketing,” a type of fake/fake review scam, and brushing scams are closely related to fake/fake reviews.
To date, no methods have been found in which scammers simply receive a “mystery seed” and then receive a bill later. In that sense, there is no immediate harm. However, there is no doubt that personal information (address, name, etc.) from online shopping sites like Amazon is being stolen or leaked and passed on to scammers. If credit card information is also being stolen, this would be a major problem.
3. How the “Brushing Scam” Works (Method)
Reviews have great value on online shopping sites.
Even a slightly high review score and high-quality comments can significantly increase sales.
They send products free of charge without permission, and once the package is delivered to the recipient, the order is considered completed and they can write a review.
They then write “high-rated reviews” on major online shopping sites, as if they were written by the recipient. This is a form of “impersonation.”
The method is as follows:
A “seller” who wants to improve their rating pays a “brushing company” (brusher) a fee and the purchase price of the product, and the brusher purchases the seller’s product on an online shopping site. The seller then ships “empty boxes” or “junk items” to the address entered by the brusher. The brusher then writes a high-rated review of the product.
Specifically, brushing companies secretly obtain personal information such as “addresses” and “names” circulating on the Internet and other platforms, and create new accounts for each address and name obtained. If you purchase many products using the account you create, the brushing company will be able to write reviews. Having many accounts where you can write reviews means you can write freely and increase your score.
I’ve never really trusted word-of-mouth reviews on sites like Tabelog, but hearing about how rampant these types of scams are is making me even less trustworthy.
As an aside, the recent rampant practice of “spoofing,” where someone pretends to be someone else and operates the internet, has become a problem.
In 2012, there was an incident in which a “remote control virus” was installed on a complete stranger’s computer, making that person the “culprit” in an attempt to cover up a crime that the perpetrator had committed.