what is brushing scams

Brushing scams are a type of e-commerce fraud where a seller creates fake orders to boost their ratings by shipping the products to an accomplice or an unsuspecting member of the public). The packages are usually addressed to the recipients residence but do not have a return address or have the return address of a retailer. The scammer typically orders the merchandise using a third-party seller like Amazon or eBay and poses as a verified buyer of that product to post a fake positive review online to boost their product rating and popularity. The packages may contain various items that the recipient never ordered. While receiving such packages may not necessarily indicate any greater problem, they could in some cases be indicative of a data breach. Victims of brushing scams are advised to notify the retailer, change their password, and possibly utilize credit-monitoring services. Brushing scams also inflate the numbers reported on a companys financial statements, which attracts the scrutiny of investors and market regulators).