SALT LAKE CITY — If you received a package in the mail and thought, “I didn’t order this,” you might be the victim of a brushing scam.
In 2020, it was seeds, from China. Now, people are receiving bigger items like pills and Post-It notes, said Britta Clark, Director of Communications with the Better Business Bureau.
“You basically open up this package that has something that you didn’t order and it’s nothing that you remember or need or have any desire to have,” she said. “Every time we get a report of a scam like this, the brushing scams, it’s something different every time it’s always crazy and seemingly random, like seeds or pool equipment. Or things like post it notes or office supplies or clothing.”
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been investigation brushing scams for years, said Jared Bingham, Team Leader.
“The purpose of a brushing scam is to try to artificially inflate the businesses with a sender’s customer reviews and business presence to try to gain some legitimacy,” he said. “Even though that’s not legitimate.”
Scammers can find your address on a retail site like Amazon, send their products to your home and then leave themselves a positive review as you.
“The business is making a slight brush, a contact with them, in this very small way,” said Bingham.
If you receive one of these packages and it turns out to be a scam, it’s perfectly legal to take it inside and keep the items. While this may seem like a victimless crime, the reality is that your…
