Face masks used by many around the world to prevent the spread of coronavirus have joined the list of items arriving by email that are not requested in homes in the Tampa area.
News station in Florida WFLA reported that Clearwater, Fla., Resident Shan Sharp received a package to her in her mailbox with two packages of face masks; the package contained no shipping information other than writing, indicating that it originated from a district in Shanghai, China. The package also reportedly reported several pieces of identifying information belonging to Sharp, including their mobile number.
“I was scared to open it myself after I saw it,” Sharp told the news station. “I did not want to keep it in my house.”
The boxes are apparently part of so-called brushing scams, identified by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in recent days as a practice that allows sellers to boost their reputation on Amazon and other marketplaces by false or not. -requested to send purchases to consumers to leave false positive reviews on those platforms.
“Their intention is to make it appear as if you were writing a glowing online review of their merchandise, and that you are a controlled buyer of that merchandise. They are then posting a false, positive review to improve the ratings of their products, some more sales means for them. The payout is highly profitable from their perspective, “explains BBB’s website.
The unsolicited mask deliveries follow previous reports of mysterious unmarked packages of seeds delivered to residents of all 50 states from China in recent days, which federal officials have said was likely part of a similar scam.
“Brushing scams involving seed packets in international mail versions are not uncommon,” the USDA said in a news release. “US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has interrupted similar seed shipments in recent years.”
FTC officials say the deliveries could indicate that companies or other individuals have access to users’ personally identifiable information, possibly including passwords.
“It could mean that the scammers have created an account in your name, or taken over your account, on online retail websites. Or even created new accounts (maybe many of them) in other names linked to your address. Let them know a lot post seemingly real reviews, “reads a recent announcement by Jennifer Leach, associate director of the FTC’s Division of Consumer and Business Education on the agency’s website.
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