The Whitehall Lego mystery began with the ring of a doorbell during "Dr. Phil." A UPS truck in this neighborhood of handsome houses near the Columbus Country Club was not unusual. Nor was it out of the ordinary for a delivery at this home in particular. But when the woman who lived there answered the door and saw the size of the boxes being dropped off one afternoon this month, she knew something was up.

The Whitehall Lego mystery began with the ring of a doorbell during Dr. Phil.

A UPS truck in this neighborhood of handsome houses near the Columbus Country Club was not unusual. Nor was it out of the ordinary for a delivery at this home in particular.

But when the woman who lived there answered the door and saw the size of the boxes being dropped off one afternoon this month, she knew something was up.

�What on earth? We�re not expecting anything,� she recalled. �Luckily, it was (during) a commercial, or I wouldn�t have gotten up.�

Inside the two big cartons were eight unopened boxes of the same Star Wars Lego set, No. 9515, The Malevolence.

The flagship of General Grievous, The Malevolence comes with �a cargo bay with transport train, detailed interior with removable/opening sections for easy access and twin quick-fire missile launchers.�

Sounds cool. Just one problem.

�I�m 90, and my wife is 84,� the woman�s husband said. �We don�t play with Legos.�

Since then, the couple have tried to determine through the police, Toys R Us, UPS and Paypal precisely how they managed to receive more than $1,000 in Lego sets that they didn�t want and don�t plan to pay for.

They figure that it likely was part of an overwrought scam by thieves who may have intended, but failed, to snatch the deliveries off their stoops, sell the goods and leave the residents with the bill.

The couple did not want to be identified because the thieves have left them uneasy. Other neighbors, they�ve discovered, also have received unwanted and pricey Lego sets, along with computer items.

Right across the street, their 79-year-old neighbor received a squadron of 11 Lego Technic helicopters, retailing at $139.99 each.

�Fifteen hundred and thirty-nine dollars worth,� that homeowner said.

At first, Whitehall police weren�t sure what to make of it. It wasn�t like the victims were out any money. Nothing had been charged to their credit cards. It appeared, Sgt. Dan Kelso said, that it was simply a shipping mistake.

�We thought, �Well, what is the point of this?�� Kelso said. �It didn�t even look like a crime occurred.�

Then a second report came in. And a third. All close in time, and all in the same neighborhood.

That made police take notice. �Time out,� Kelso said. �What�s going on here?�

Then, as quickly as the flurry began, the reports stopped at five.

Although not all the pieces of this puzzle have snapped into place, authorities think this may be what happened:

Someone bought the goods in the victims� names using Paypal�s Bill Me Later service, which allows customers to buy from 1,000 stores online without providing a credit card. All that�s needed is a date of birth and the last digits of a Social Security number.

The victims also discovered they had been signed up to UPS� My Choice service, which alerts members when their packages are about to arrive. But they never received the alerts. They�re guessing the crooks probably did.

�They sit back, and the minute they lay it on your porch, they�re getting it,� the 84-year-old woman said.

The day after the Star Wars Legos arrived, and the same day the 11 Lego helicopters landed at the house across the street, the couple�s daughter stopped by. As the daughter approached their house, a slow-moving van with the side door open and some shifty-looking characters aboard caught her attention. The men were eyeing houses as they passed.

�She said they were just barely creeping,� the woman said.

Her husband is baffled at how the would-be thieves got their personal information. He said he�s always been careful, or so he thought.

�Nobody except the tax people get my Social Security number,� he said.

The couple�s bill, including a later package they refused to accept, is $1,768.65.

�Of course we�re not going to pay it,� her husband said.

A Toys R Us spokeswoman referred comment to Paypal.

�We�re investigating this and will work to find a resolution,� a Paypal spokeswoman said in a prepared statement. �As always, the security of our users is a top priority for PayPal.�

For now, the Legos remain at the couple�s home. Kelso said Whitehall detectives are trying to track who opened the various accounts in the residents� names. Police can�t explain how the recipients were chosen.

�Why is it all within walking distance and within seeing distance of each other?� Kelso asked. � It was a new one to everyone.�

He laughed. If the crooks thought their elderly targets would be slow to answer the door, they grossly miscalculated.

�They keep getting thwarted by 80-year-old people,� he said.

tdecker@dispatch.com