12/19/2024
A little bit of an UPDATE, since our original post may have caused confusion for some folks. THE GOAL IS TO SPREAD THE WORD TO BRING AWARENESS. While we haven't experienced any known brushing scams, they are becoming a trend throughout the country. There are several different versions of this scam, but all with the same idea.
The brushing scam is when one receives an unsolicited item delivered to their house, usually merchandise from a retailer with no return address or indication where it came from.
While this seems like a great surprise, the issue is someone, somewhere is using your personal information, typically dealing with fake reviews that fraudulently boost an items ratings and sales, which may boost actual sales.
The package may also include a QR code, which if you scan could direct you to questionable sites operated by scammers intended to take advantage of you/your finances.
Things to know/Options:
-You are not obligated to pay for it. Don't be talked into paying for it.
-Return to sender and USPS will take care of it
-Throw it away
-Keep it. You are not obligated to pay for it.
-The scammers have some of your personal information. Change your passwords and make sure they are difficult to guess and not reused over and over.
-As always, monitor your credit.
-Be wary of suspicious contents
-Notify the retailer and fill a fraud report and ask any reviews in your name be removed.
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With the holiday season in full swing, we want our community to be aware of a recent scam that is circulating around the US called “brushing”.
A "brushing" scam is when someone receives an unexpected gift or item not ordered in the mail from a place like Amazon or other company. Examples of gifts include, rings, bracelets, necklaces, Bluetooth speaker, etc. The gift will have the recipient’s address, but not include the sender's information or be from a known retailer. When the recipient opens the package to see what it is and possibly who sent it, there is a QR code to scan to find out who sent the gift.
Once the code is scanned, all the information from that phone will be sent to scammers. They receive all access to the phone. All personal and financial information is accessible to the scammers and often the victim's bank accounts are drained.
If you encounter this, DO NOT scan the QR code. Please help us spread the word!