Local law enforcement warns citizens to be aware of the “brushing scam.”
According to the United Postal Service, a large scale scam that involves receiving surprise gifts and unsolicited packages from a company or retailer comes with a higher cost than receivers realize. Often, this kind of unsolicited merchandise is part of a larger brushing scam, which is illegal in the U.S. and many other countries.
The scam begins when a person receives packages containing various sorts of items which were not ordered or requested by the recipient. While the package may be addressed to the recipient, there is no return address, or the return address could be that of a retailer. The sender is usually an international, third-party seller who has found the recipient’s address online. The intention is to give the impression that the recipient is a verified buyer who has written positive online reviews of the merchandise, meaning the sender writes a fake review in your name. These fake reviews fraudulently boost or inflate the products’ ratings and sales numbers, which they hope will result in an increase of actual sales. Since the merchandise is usually cheap and cheap to ship, the scammers perceive this as a profitable pay-off.
While it may appear to be a victimless crime—you did after all get free stuff—the reality is that your personal information may be compromised. Often scammers obtain personal information through nefarious means and with ill-intentions and use it for a number of scams and other illicit activities in the future.
Your fake review may prompt people to purchase worthless goods.
In other instances, bad actors are using a person’s address and account information to receive merchandise, then steal it from the home before the resident is able to intercept it.
If you have encountered a brushing scam you are encouraged to change your account passwords and closely monitor your credit reports and credit card bills. If the merchandise is organic (i.e., seeds, food, plants) or an unknown liquid or substance, notify the proper authorities and follow their instructions. If unsolicited merchandise arrives from Amazon, eBay, or another third-party seller, go to that company’s website and file a fraud report. Ask the company to remove any fake reviews under your name.
