Lightroom Classic makes unwanted copies...

During imports from my iPhone 15, I direct Lightroom Classic to:

COPY--> NEW PHOTOS

& I have selected "DO NOT IMPORT SUSPECTED DUPLICATES". 

LR makes new carbon copies of existing images (adding a -2, -3, etc. to the title) and I can't seem to make it stop!

It also, sometimes, creates smaller copies with an 'E' before the file number.

I did not have this problem in the past, and it DOESN'T happen during every import (even though my settings remain the same) - but I've been battling it for the past many months.

Software is up-to-date on my iPhone15, my Macbook Pro, and Lightroom Classic.

Any tips appreciated!

Kelly

p.s. I just noticed a weird caveat (photos attached):

When I searched on a specific file number (#7006, for example) within a specific folder in Finder, it indicated that the date all #7006 files were created was Dec 31, 1969...??

But when I look at that exact same file number in a Finder window displaying ALL of that same folder's contents, it shows the correct creation date of June 26th, 2023.

I suspect these 2 different 'creation dates' may be part of my issue, but I have no clue how to resolve it.