Someone sent me a blank DVD in the mail.

[Specineff]

The sender is only marked as "Briggs". The disc is one of those cheap NX-brand, sold by Fry's Electronics. Perfectly blank, and writeable. The address is somewhere around Williamsville NY, in a Cul-de-Sac. I haven't ordered any game or software, discarding the possibility someone tried to scam me out of an order. The address doesn't match any of the people I've dealt with before. There's a tracking number. Nothing else inside the envelope, not even dust, or residue of any kind. There's a fingerprint on the disc. I've handled it by the edges.

Name and address match mine. I haven't offered to burn anything for anyone, and it doesn't make sense to pay 3.50 dollars to send a blank DVD across the nation. I'm calling the police about this, though.

Theory one: Since the disc is of the same brand I have been using for my non-critical backups, maybe some stalker got into my home, took the disc and sent it to me as if to say "I was in there". Which is pretty stupid since there's a tracking number.

Theory 2: Doctor Who is messing around with me.

Theory 3. It's someone I dealt with in the past, and he/she sent me a disc by mistake, but again... who spends 3 bucks to send a 50-cent blank disk across the nation?

Your thoughts? Please be serious.

[chempop]

The only logical (non-creepy) explanation I can think of is that you accidentally sent it to someone amidst other items and they are returning it to you.

[Specineff]

Yeah, but the only thing I've sold and sent in the USA is Wind Waker for the Cube, and that was over six months ago. There was nowhere to stick the DVD into.

[Skykid]

Like a David Lynch movie.

[Cagar]

Are you reeeaally sure that someone didn't order/buy it with your credit card / paypal / amazon / ebay / whatever information?
I've heard that it's common that information stealers try if the account they've stolen works, by ordering a random cheap electronic item to a random address. (Or the address the account is tied with).
Some banks in Finland will call you if they notice that something that random (like a single DVD) has been ordered with your account, and ask if it was on purpose or should they lock your account.
Heck, I don't know how this stuff works, it might be that someone your friend has got their account stolen, with the address information still in your house (if they have ordered you a gift or something).
I'd check your bank account, and tell your friends to do the same (if they have sent/ordered something to your address before)

Morning shitty english, I hope this makes some sense.

[Specineff]

Thanks, Cagar. I'll do that.

Edit: Bank account looks fine. I moved to this address in February of this year, which is when I sold that Wind Waker, but again, I'm sure that disc didn't even fit in the case. I've checked all my sales on Ebay, and other than the Wind Waker and a couple collectibles I sold for a friend, there are no sales I could have sent a blank disc in by mistake.

[Xyga]

I smell a huge conspiracy, some powerful occult group is up to something big and for some reason you're now part of it.
Move out, don't use your phone, put on shades and a fake mustache NOW !
Then take the DVD to your 1337 Haxx0r friend, with his powerful illegal gear he will certainly find hidden data that's vital to our world's future.

[Ed Oscuro]

Cops are gonna say "u got a free coaster dude!" and I won't blame them; there's really nothing to go for here. Maybe it's possible somebody was sending the disc to somebody else. Or maybe this Briggs is using the fingerprinted CD as a kind of predenial of having been served with a subpoena / been killed / etc.

Kind of a strange scenario...I am more concerned about the obvious scam phone call my cell got from number 202-1 (ya rly) announcing "THIS IS AN OFFICIAL CALL FRUM [card payment processor]" in a horrible computer text to speech voice

[BIL]

What if the disc was sent by FUTURE SPECINEFF? That fingerprint look familiar? ^_~ It probably contains instructions about how to destroy the evil computer or some shit.

[manatworks]

may be the disc works only in certain time like after midnight?
awww yeah , it does sounds like a beginning of crappy Japanese horror film! awesome.

[KAI]

Use that disc to destroy SKYNET, you are our only hope....BZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz...........

[chempop]

After a little research, it’s starting to make sense. You say it’s from Briggs?
http://www.selmak.org/pages/236/indexa.htm

[Specineff]

What if the disc was sent by FUTURE SPECINEFF? That fingerprint look familiar? ^_~ It probably contains instructions about how to destroy the evil computer or some shit.

OH, SCHNAUZER! TO THE BATCAVE!

[Joe T.]

It's vcd footage from the black lodge.

[cicada88]

Occam's Razor says its a prank unless you are someone who would be "stalked". I assume you are an introverted male, so I think the possibility of that is low.

It is weird that they would leave a fingerprint, though. Because if it's a prank they could get themselves or someone else in trouble, and I feel like anyone doing this as a prank wouldn't leave a fingerprint by mistake. (Neither would someone doing this for truly nefarious means either unless they are framing someone with the fingerprint / tracking #)

[chempop]

[Ed Oscuro]

It is weird that they would leave a fingerprint, though.

Keep scratching away with the Razor for a moment: There's nothing about this tale that's immediately threatening, and that fact certainly isn't contrary to this reading.

As we all should be aware, police are often asked to help with cases with obvious threatening elements - and even there they often are unable to do much to help. Given that there is literally nothing at all that is threatening in this case, I think that they will likely laugh Spec off the line. This is not to say that Spec isn't on to something or that being unsettled is dumb, but at the same time I think it would be OK to just chill about this. Mystery Mailer apparently has Spec's address so he can write again if he thinks it necessary.

[D]

I'm calling the police about this

This made my day!
But on a serious note, I can understand that it must be creepy to get a blank dvd in the post.
Maybe it's from outerspace, some way of communication. Another species think they will be able to communicate to us with a dvd? It would make for a great start of a sci-fi movie
I can imagine you have tried it on all computers. Which might be dangerous.... virus worms and stuffs.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Watch the film Conspirators of Pleasure*). Read the Soil manga too. I suspect it is a prank.
*) Have no fear; nothing (too) anti-Christian.

[antron]

Anything you burn to that disc will disappear from your harddrive, and history.

[waiwainl]

Possibly a religious conversion or some elaborate scam message on that disc but they forgot to actually burn it before sending

[ED-057]

So burn a Rick Astley video on there and mail it back. Case closed.

[Specineff]

So burn a Rick Astley video on there and mail it back. Case closed.

HA. Genius. Thanks.

Spoke with a police officer and got some advice. While he understood I was spooked out by the ocurrence, he told me not to worry about it unless more stuff starts to appear at my door. There's an incident number they can use if that's the case.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[gct]

So if the DVD apparently hasn't cost you anything so far, maybe drop some hints to the sender that you would like an Astro City to appear at your door next

[Captain]

Send back an entirely different blank dvd.

[NTSC-J]

Meanwhile, I’ll create a GUI interface using Visual Basic to see if I can track an IP address.

[D]

Anything you burn to that disc will disappear from your harddrive, and history.

I wish I could give you a feedback +1 for this comment alone!