Consumers all over the country are receiving unsolicited "diamond" rings in a fancy red box as part of a "brushing" scam aimed at stealing their personal information and creating fake positive reviews using their names.
The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the federal law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service, warned consumers to beware of seemingly harmless free items that arrive on their doorsteps because these items come with a higher cost than some may realize.
Brushing is illegal in the US and many other countries, and here's how the scam works:
A person receives a package or parcel containing a "diamond" ring that was not ordered or requested by the recipient.
The sender of the ring — which is set with an inexpensive faux diamond — is usually an international, third-party seller who has found the recipient’s address online.
Along with the faux diamond ring are two cards. One provides information about the company and the other includes a QR code for the recipient to scan under the guise that the precious gem needs to be registered. Actually, the QR code links to a phishing website that attempts to trick the recipient into revealing personal and financial information.
The third party may also use the information in the future for a number of scams and other illicit activities.
The USPIS also noted that the distribution of unsolicited items is a tactic to create fake transactions and give the impression that the recipient is a verified buyer. Actually, the third party will write a fake review in the recipient's name.
These fake positive reviews help to fraudulently boost or inflate the products’ ratings and sales numbers, which they hope results in an increase of actual sales in the long run.
Since the merchandise is usually cheap and inexpensive to ship, the scammers perceive this as a profitable payoff.
US Postal Inspector Andrea Avery said that whatever you do, do not pay for the item and don't get conned if the sender follows up with a phone call. By law, she noted, unsolicited packages are yours to keep. Finders keepers applies unconditionally.
"If you didn't order the package, you don't have to return it," she said.
Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.