The U.S. Postal Service is warning consumers about a growing scam called “brushing,” where unsolicited packages are sent to harvested addresses to inflate the reputation of an unscrupulous online retailer.
Brushing scams involve receiving unsolicited packages containing low-cost items, such as household goods, the USPS warns. These packages are often sent by online retailers or third parties who use your personal information to create fake transactions, inflating product reviews or sales rankings.
“By shipping inexpensive or random items to real addresses, scammers can then post reviews under those names, boosting seller reputations and manipulating marketplace algorithms,” explained Armen Najarian, chief marketing officer for Sift, an AI-powered fraud prevention company in San Francisco.
“This tactic can make listings appear more legitimate and trustworthy, driving more sales,” he told the E-Commerce Times.
Brushing can also be a way to skirt U.S. laws, noted Tony Anscombe, chief security evangelist at Eset, an information technology security company headquartered in Slovakia. “Posting fake reviews is an offense in the U.S., and this appears to be a method of circumventing the illegality of the action,” he told the E-Commerce Times.
