Unexpected packages arriving at your door could be part of 'brushing' scam, police say

Coming off the holiday shopping and shipping season, authorities are warning about so-called “brushing” scams.

The scams often involve consumers receiving unexpected packages in the mail or via private delivery trucks, like those from Amazon.

In some cases posted on social media and reported by news organizations, the packages contain seeds, rocks, clothing, and bags.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the federal law enforcement arm overseeing mail crimes, has noted that these scams often involve the receipt of unsolicited items that the recipient did not order.

According to officials, the parcels may be addressed to the recipient but lack a return address, or list a retailer’s address instead. Typically, these items are sent by international, third-party sellers who have obtained the recipient’s address online.

The underlying scam involves creating the illusion that the recipient is a verified buyer who has posted positive online reviews, which can artificially inflate the product ratings and sales figures on e-commerce platforms.

While many brushing scams are largely victimless crimes, there are more sinister ones where scanning a QR code leads to phishing sites designed to harvest personal information or install malware, authorities said.

In addition to brushing scams, authorities are also alerting the public to “smishing” scams related to package deliveries.

The smishing scams involve fraudulent text messages that impersonate legitimate sources, claiming that packages are lost or providing tracking information for orders the recipients did not make.

Federal postal law enforcement recently issued alerts urging customers not to engage with such messages and to report them immediately.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has the following tips for brushing scams:

• Don’t pay for the merchandise. Do not be swindled or talked into paying for it.
• Return to sender. If marked with a return address, and it is UNOPENED, you may mark it “RETURN TO SENDER” and USPS will return it at no charge to you.
• Throw it away. If you opened it, and do not wish to keep it, you may simply dispose of it in the garbage, as long as it is safe to do so.
• Keep it. If you opened it and you like it, you may keep it. By law, you may keep unsolicited merchandise and are under no obligation to pay for it.
• Change your account passwords. Your personal information may have been compromised.
• Closely monitor. Closely monitor your credit reports and credit card bills.
• Notify authorities. If the merchandise is organic (i.e., seeds, food, plants) or an unknown liquid or substance, notify the proper authorities and follow their instructions.
• Suspicious contents. If you are wary of the contents inside an unsolicited package, please follow the instructions on our SUSPICIOUS MAIL page.
• Notify the retailer. If unsolicited merchandise arrives from Amazon, eBay, or another third-party seller, go to that company’s website and file a fraud report. Ask the company to remove any fake reviews under your name.