So, what is a brushing scam, and how does it work? Moreover, how does it affect you and your life?
What Is a Brushing Scam?
Why Do Scammers Buy Their Own Product for Other People?
But wait a minute—why on earth are scammers buying their own products for other people? In fact, why is it even called a “scam” at all when it sounds like Christmas came early instead?
The key here is that the scammer isn’t operating out of the kindness of their own heart. In fact, they’re doing it so that they can artificially inflate their product’s score with fake reviews. And to do that, they need an authentic name and address.
Verified reviews have a lot more weight than non-verified ones. That’s because they’re far more likely to come from a legitimate customer who owns the product and is giving an honest review. These reviews are more reliable to customers than reviews written by robots, as the latter will spam five-star reviews in a bid to make the product more attractive.
Companies know the importance of verified five-star reviews and so they want as many reviews as possible. As such, some of them will create their own verified five-star reviews to encourage real buyers to give their products a chance.
From the perspective of the company, the scam is now a done deal. However, there’s still a package on its way to an unsuspecting person, and when it arrives, it creates a lot of confusion as to where it came from.
A Past Case of a Brushing Scam
It may sound like a bizarre scam that doesn’t see any real-world use, but it’s actually common enough to see news coverage on the topic.
For example, in late 2020, the BBC reported that thousands of Americans were sent random packets of seeds through a brushing scam. What made the scam particularly worrisome was that the recipients had no idea what the seeds actually grew, which sparked warnings that nobody should attempt to plant them.
Do Brushing Scams Use Your Money?
It can be worrying to see random packages come through the mail because it implies that someone may be enjoying a shopping spree on your credit card. However, you need not fear.
What separates a brushing scam from any other hacking methods that break into your bank account is the person paying for the goods. While most money-oriented scams usually involve someone stealing your money, a brushing scam does not use your own funds whatsoever.
When a company initiates a brushing scam, they use their own funds to send you the item. They may have your name and address, but they typically don’t have your financial details and aren’t buying the items using your money.
Do You Have to Pay for Brushing Scam Items? Can You Keep Them?
When you don’t know the person who sent you the item and the item was both knowingly and deliberately sent to you, it’s known as an “unsolicited good.” Countries usually have laws about these goods, and they usually say that if you get one, you can keep it.
For instance, the United States Postal Inspection Service piece on brushing scams says the following:
However, be really careful of the company trying to scam you a second time. There’s a reason why countries have laws about unsolicited goods, and it’s to protect you from a different kind of scam.
In this scam, a company will send people an item for free, particularly something consumable. Then, the company will chase up the people it sent a product to, demanding payment for the product to avoid legal action. Sometimes the person has already consumed the item and feels obligated to pay the company back for an item they never really wanted.
As such, keep an eye out for any correspondence from the company that sent you the item. They may try to trick you into thinking you need to pay for the goods they sent you, but as we covered earlier, you need not fork out money for unsolicited items.
How to Report a Brushing Scam
Provide the following information:
List of order IDs (at least one order is required) Number of unwanted packages received Photo of at least one shipping label (optional) Any additional information to assist the investigation
You don’t need to return the item.
