Sorry, Sue Storm Isn't Here

Today we received two items in the mail addressed to "Sue Storm." At first I just thought it was the wrong address and a second later I realized that Sue Storm is a character from the Fantastic Four. One item was some kind of collectible in a nice box, "invoice enclosed." The other was some information on one of those on-line universities where you can get your GED or certificate for private investigation or legal secretary. The letter even had an added part to the address: Apartment 4.

We threw the letter away and returned the box to the sender. No big deal. It took a couple of minutes, maximum. I'm sure this was someones idea of a joke or something. But, it really isn't all that funny. And if they were trying to "show us," then it was also a bad idea since it takes a second to throw junk mail away.

Here's the real issue - it hurts those other businesses. I am sure the collectible company that sent the package will loose money from this joke. I am sure that the on-line school spends money to send out the info packets to people who claim to be interested in their degree programs. This little joke doesn't hurt my business, it hurts these other businesses who put time and supplies and manpower into making and delivering the products. Not so funny now, is it?

I don't know what possesses a person to take the time and thought required to attempt something like this, but clearly they didn't really think about what the real effects would be. I hope they didn't involve any more innocent companies in this little prank. So far it has cost the prankster time and the other businesses money, and me - two minutes to get the mail and throw one envelope away and write three words on another. Oh, and by the way, this could almost be considered Mail Fraud - and that's really not a joke to the Federal Government.