The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning customers about a new nationwide scam, which they claim has a "scary downside."

"Brushing" scams are trending nationwide wide, and are appearing out of thin air onto consumer doorsteps, literally, according to a release from Julie Goodwin, regional director for the BBB. Goodwin said unordered packages from Amazon and other online sellers are appearing on the doorsteps of recipients without a return address and simply appearing to be from the retailer.

Goodwin said the items received are often "lightweight and inexpensive to ship, such as ping pong balls, face masks, or seeds from China."

"In one case, a humidifier, a hand warmer, a flashlight, a Bluetooth speaker and a computer vacuum cleaner arrived unordered," Goodwin said.

According to Goodwin, one consumer in a recent BBB Scam Tracker Report said a "mysterious package" was delivered to their home without them ordering any such package, and was from a person they did not know.

"When I tried to look up the return address, the search returned "brushing scam" hits," the consumer said.

According to Goodwin, the companies connected to the scam are often foreign and third-party sellers who stumbled across a recipient's address and information online. Goodwin said the sellers then ship random products to a recipient's home, imply the recipient has left a "glowing online review of their merchandise" and that the recipient is a verified buyer.

The scammers thenpost a fake, "positive review" to boost their products’ ratings, leading to an increase in sales.

"The fact that someone could have the items sent to you as if you purchased them indicates that they have some of your personal information, such as your name, address, and, possibly, phone number," Goodwin said in the release. "Once the information is online, it could be used for numerous crooked enterprises."

The BBB includes six ways consumers can protect themselves and handle unordered packages in their release: notify the retailer, attempt to identify the sender, check your account for recent orders, change your account passwords, you are allowed to keep the merchandise and protect your identity.

 

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSUnordered packages may be part of a nationwide brushing scam, BBB says (wlos.com)