Lauren Lewis wrote an article for KTLA titled New twist on popular mail scam hitting Southern California (24 January 2024).
« A popular post on Reddit titled, “Mysterious necklaces being shipped,” is getting a lot of traction. »
« A lot of commenters responded saying they’ve also gotten packages they didn’t order. One commenter said, “I got two cheap AirPods knockoffs. They were like $7. Called Amazon and they took note and just told me to keep them.” »
« The most common comment was that this seems to be a new take on a “brushing” scam. Brushing became rampant in 2020 when unsuspecting people were getting seeds they never ordered in the mail.
What is a brushing scam?
The FTC explained in a 2020 post: “It’s when somebody sends you stuff, unordered, because it lets them give themselves a great review in your name. Annoying, but whatever, right? Nope. More than annoying. It could mean that the scammers have created an account in your name, or taken over your account, on online retail sites. Or even created new accounts (maybe lots of them) in other names tied to your address.”
The FTC says to keep an eye on your online shopping accounts for any unusual activity. If you get something you didn’t order, you can make a report on the FTC website. And remember, you never have to pay for something you didn’t order. »
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