DAYTON — If you’ve recently gotten a random item that you didn’t order, it could be part of a scheme called “Brushing.”
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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30 p.m., the U.S. Postal Service is warning people of a scam that may seem harmless, but could still put your personal information at risk.
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Ryan Simmons is someone who gets packages delivered all the time, so he opened what looked like a normal Amazon delivery and found something that left him stumped.
He had received a single pack of beet chews.
“I did think that maybe someone in my family was playing a joke on me, that they were telling me that I needed to eat healthier,” Simmons said.
But he’s not the only one who has received packages they didn’t order.
Back in December, News Center 7 reported that West Carrollton Police were warning people of these potential scams.
With items randomly showing up on people’s doorsteps.
“They didn’t order anything, they received it, and it’s generally a household item, a low-value item,” David Gealey, a U.S. Postal Inspector, said.
Gealey told our sister station in Pittsburgh that Brushing is becoming more common.
“They have your personal information, which it’s easy to get because they can just Google a name and address. It’s out there on the web, right?” Gealey said.
Then the scammers mail or ship products, making it seem like a real transaction has taken place, and write a fake review posing as the person who received the product.
That all sounds fairly harmless, but investigators say you need to really watch out for QR codes.
“We do caution customers do not scan any QR code that’s on the package because sometimes that QR code can lead to a malicious site,” Gealey said.
Simmons’ package did not have a QR code.
“My first thought was to check my account to see if my account had been hacked,” Simmons said.
Fortunately, his account hadn’t been hacked, which left him with a sense of relief and a package of a health supplement he’d never heard of.
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