ATLANTA — If you‘ve recently received a random item that you didn’t order, it could be part of a scheme called brushing.
Fraudsters use it to brush up or boost a product review by creating fake orders.
The United States Postal Service warns it could put your personal information at risk.
Ryan Simmons says he gets packages delivered all the time.
Last month, he opened what looked like an Amazon delivery and found something that left him stumped -- a single pack of beet chews.
“I did think that maybe someone in my family was playing a joke on me, that they were telling me that I needed to eat healthier,” Simmons said.
But he’s not alone. Another received a single can of tomatoes, and another person got a single packet of tuna fish.
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“They didn’t order anything, they receive it, and it’s generally a household item, a low-value item,” said David Gealey, a U.S. postal inspector.
He warned that brushing is becoming more common. Fraudsters start by randomly creating a mailing list.
“They have your personal information, which it’s easy to get because they can just Google a name and address. It’s out there on the web, right?” Gealey said.
Then they mail or ship products, making it seem like a real transaction has taken place, and write a fake review posing as the person who received the product.
All sounds fairly harmless, but here’s what investigators say you need to really watch out for.
“We do caution customers, do not scan any QR code that’s on the package because sometimes that QR code can lead to a malicious site,” Gealey said.
Simmons’ package did not have a QR code. He did go online as soon as he realized it was a random gift.
“My first thought was to check my account to see if my account had been hacked,” Simmons said.
Fortunately, it had not, leaving him with a sense of relief and that package of a health supplement he’d never heard of.
The postal inspector said if you get one of these random packages, you don’t have to worry about sending it back. But you should call your local police or the postal service to report it.
And he also recommends you do a credit report with the three major credit reporting companies to make sure other sensitive information hasn’t been exposed.
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