Brushing scams: What you need to know

Question: What do a gel neck ice pack, a motherboard for a computer, and a shower head water filter have in common?

Answer: An unsuspecting person didn’t order them, but they randomly showed up at their house.

This is called a brushing scam. Why? Because scammers are trying to look legitimate by “brushing up” their reputation. It works like this: scammers open a fake account with an online merchant using the victim’s name and address and purchase unsolicited products. Then they log into the merchant site and write glowing reviews to boost the products’ ratings and sales. Because the items were shipped to a real address, the reviews get flagged as a Verified purchases. This makes the products appear more popular and reputable than they are, thereby increasing sales and visibility with shoppers. This tactic is often used to add credibility to counterfeit products and items of poor quality.

Although receiving items you didn’t order is sometimes fun, it could mean your personal information has been compromised and you may be more vulnerable to other scams — potentially even identity theft.

How can you protect yourself if you are targeted by a brushing scam?

1. Contact the retailer: Receive an Amazon package you didn’t order? Contact Amazon. They will then investigate the seller.
2. Don’t pay for the package: If a seller or delivery company sends an invoice, don’t pay it!
3. Change your passwords: Being targeted by a brushing scam could mean your data has been compromised. Change passwords on all your retail, email, banking, and other accounts. (just make sure it’s not one of these bad passwords).
4. Check your bank, credit cards, and credit report: Watch your credit, checking, and savings accounts for several months to make sure no one is accessing them. You should also keep an eye on your credit ratings to make sure there is no one trying to steal your identity to open a new line of credit.
5. Report it – Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and/or the Better Business Bureau. You can also report the scam to your mobile carrier by forwarding the message to 7726 (SPAM).

Want more information?

• Click here to find out more from the FTC about recognizing and reporting spam text messages.
• Click here to read about how to protect your personal information and data.

Written by Anna Eherenman, TDS-U student