A woman is going viral on TikTok after sharing the mysterious voicemail her mom received after buying produce from Target.
Antonia (@passingthewater), who shares a TikTok account with her mom, Caro, recorded the video while at Target. It’s suggested that the two were shopping when Caro noticed that she had a missed call on her phone.
In the accompanying text overlay, Antonia said the voicemail her mom received was the “scariest thing.” As of Monday, her video documenting what happened had amassed more than 217,000 views.
What happened at Target?
Antonia said that her mom just picked up a cucumber and put it in her shopping cart. Then, seconds later, she said that Caro received a phone call.
It’s implied that Antonia’s mom didn’t pick up the phone because she was left with a voicemail shortly thereafter. The person on the other line was named “Sheril,” and a transcription of her voicemail revealed that she was warning the family against buying the cucumber.
“Hello, this is an important recorded product recall message from Target. A recall was announced for… cucumbers due to the potential to be contaminated with salmonella,” the transcription read. “Our records indicate someone at this number purchased an impacted variety of cucumber.”
The person on the other line instructed Caro to check Target’s website for “impacted purchase dates.” Had Antonia’s mom already left with the item, there were instructions for her to reach out to Target through its website.
Antonia and her mom were spooked by the timing of the notice and wondered aloud whether someone from Target was spying on them. Then, Caro said that she planned on putting the cucumber back.
“This is weird,” Antonia said.
Target sends out robocalls to affected customers
According to the Daily Mail, Target is sending these terrifying robocalls to all customers who it believes may have purchased recalled items.
The voicemail is the same: They all warn customers that they may have bought an item infected with salmonella. But it’s not clear why Caro received the call shortly after putting the product in her cart.
One customer who shared a transcription of a voicemail they received with Daily Mail said that they purchased the infected product on Nov. 11 and didn’t receive a call until weeks later. The customer interviewed by the outlet also added that she visited a Target location in New York.
@passingthewater Can someone explain this?!
♬ original sound – Anto and Caro
More cucumbers are recalled
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a massive cucumber recall has affected produce sold at Walmart, Costco, Albertsons, Kroger—and now Target.
The cucumbers in question have been linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened 68 people in 19 states so far. Some cucumbers have already been recalled in more than two dozen states and in parts of Canada. Some stores, including Costco, have already notified shoppers who may have bought the tainted produce.
According to CBS News, at least three companies have recalled cucumbers grown in Sonora, Mexico, and sold to importers between Nov. 12 and 26.
Viewers spooked by mysterious Target voicemail
In the comments section of Antonia’s video, several viewers were similarly spooked by the timing of the voicemail left on her mom’s phone. Some speculated that our phones are listening to our conversations, something that’s gained widespread prevalence, especially given the advent of data collection and tracking.
“It’s like the phones are listening and reading our minds,” one viewer wrote.
“People really underestimate technology,” another said. “What they watch, listen to. I was THINKING of buying a diff. brand olive oil, within 30 seconds my feed was FILLED with olive oil ads.”
“All kinds of similar stuff is happening to me & ppl I know,” another woman shared. “Whatever we think about is showing up on our feeds.”
Others shared that they, too, received a similarly ominous message.
“They called me too !! But about Kodiak waffles,” one woman revealed.
“I got that too,” another shared. “I assumed they were able to get that info from my Target app! Since it tracks what you purchase there!”
And some questioned why Target would leave voicemails when it could simply remove the cucumbers from its shelves.
“Wouldn’t it just be easier to remove the cucumbers from the shelves?” one person asked.
“So why are they selling them?” another echoed.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Antonia via TikTok comment and to Target by email.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
