USPS Warns New York Residents- Thousands Are Getting Tricked

While we hope all your packages showed up on time during the holiday season, if you shopped online during the holidays you may want to keep your eye out for a recently reported scam that targets online shoppers across New York.

A new scam called "Brushing Scam" is happening across New York State. Here's what it means, and how to be safe from it.

First- What Exactly Is The "Brushing Scam?"

Have you ever got a box from Amazon and you're confused by the contents? You don't remember buying this? This is most likely if you or someone in your household did not order it a target of something called a brushing scam.

According to the Better Business Bureau, the retailer or sender who is sending these packages to you is usually a third-party retailer. They sent you this product so that they can leave a glowing five-star review of their product under your name or the name on the package. Higher ratings means more sales for retailers. But, they have your name and know your address.

This is how it works- A person receives packages or parcels containing various sorts of items which were not ordered or requested by the recipient. While the package may be addressed to the recipient, there is not a return address, or the return address could be that of a retailer. The sender of the item(s) is usually an international, third-party seller who has found the recipient’s address online. The intention is to give the impression that the recipient is a verified buyer who has written positive online reviews of the merchandise, meaning: they write a fake review in your name. These fake 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 low-cost to ship, the scammers perceive this as a profitable pay-off.

While it may appear to be a victimless crime, the reality is that your personal information may be compromised.

So What Happens Next?

The Federal Trade Commission explains: "By law, companies can’t send unordered merchandise to you, then demand payment." That means you never have to pay for things you get but didn’t order. You also don’t need to return unordered merchandise.

The United States Postal Service sometimes unwillingly becomes the carrier delivering these scam packages. They report if you receive these packages, it can mean that one scammer has your information, other scammers most likely have your information too.

Experts say that if you get one of these surprise packages that you didn't order and no one else ordered it for you, double check your accounts and make sure no money was removed from your bank account or from your credit card.

You can learn more online here.