DEAR SUN SPOTS: The University of Maine at Farmington’s Sustainable Campus Coalition and the Greater Farmington Food Council is looking for volunteers to help with the upcoming event, “Feed 10K for Western Maine,” which will be held Sunday, Nov. 18, from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. (The event could finish closer to 1 p.m.)

We are asking volunteers to arrive at 8 a.m. to help set up and to receive training. We will be packing meals in UMF’s North Dining Hall. This should be lots of fun! Contact Luke Kellet at 778-7096 or luke.kellett@maine.edu for more information and to sign up. — Lisa, Farmington

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Regarding your recent column concerning people receiving unexpected packages from Amazon, there is something called “brushing” going on. I recall reading about this a while ago in the Boston Globe. One couple in particular had received many, many Amazon packages without explanation. Even Amazon did not know what was going on. — Joline, Lewiston

ANSWER: This happened to me a while ago and I had forgotten about it until I read Joline’s note. I reviewed the link (https://hip2save.com/2018/06/12/amazon-packages-beware-brushing-scam/) she sent that, in short, says some people have been having unexplained, unordered packages delivered to their homes with no return address, packing receipt, or order number.

In this international e-commerce home delivery scheme, overseas sellers purchase their own items through fake buyer accounts and have the merchandise sent to real U.S. homes. The seller then gives themselves a glowing “verified” review of the product in order to rank higher in Amazon search engine ratings. There is usually no record of a charge for these items, but be sure to check!

If you start receiving packages you never ordered, the Identity Theft Resource Center recommends you contact the retailer (Amazon, etc.) immediately and change your passwords to your online accounts in case the scammer found your address from hacking into your account. If you start receiving a lot of shipments, contact the post office for help with holding packages until you can pick them up or figure out what’s going on. Research before you buy. Use free software like Fakespot to ensure the products you’re purchasing aren’t rated highly due to brushing.

As I’ve said many times before, I learn something new every day from my wonderful Sun Spots readers. Good work, Joline!

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am a member of a walking group, all of us retired. We have been walking every Tuesday for the past eight years. After our Oct. 30 morning walk we went to Mac’s Grill in Auburn for lunch. When we got ready to leave, the waitress told us that a customer at another table, who had left, had paid our entire tab! There were 11 of us! So, thank you, sir, and I have to say, you really made quite an impression on this group of women “of a certain age.” We send you heartfelt appreciation. — “The Walkabouts,” Maine

ANSWER: I really do hope your mystery benefactor reads Sun Spots and sees that his very generous, kind act made a difference. Your group sounds like a lot of fun! Keep walking!

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