Have You Been “Brushed?”

Scammers continue to come up with creative ways to disrupt people’s lives.  Brushing scams – receiving items that you did not order, or having your name used in reviews of products you don’t use – is one of the current popular schemes.  It is called brushing because the perpetrator is trying to “brush up” or improve their product ratings in order to sell more products.  Helping clients understand and avoid being a victim of such operations is another value-added service of the professional insurance agent.

Brushing can occur when a person receives a package containing items they did not purchase. There may be no return address or it may be from a legitimate retailer. Values of the items are often low, such as single subject notebooks. The package may include a QR code for the victim to scan – purportedly to find out who the sender is. QR code instead steals information from the phone or sends the victim to another site that attempts to extract personal information. Brushing can also occur when a person’s name and address is used to post reviews on products they don’t use. In any event, personal information has been exposed or compromised.

Items are purchased by a third party – usually on major retailing sites including Amazon, eBay or Staples.  The buyer sets up an account using names and addresses they find on the internet and elsewhere. The information may come from data brokers or the dark web, or may have been exposed in a dark breach posing as a verified purchaser with the intent of posting a favorable review and boosting their product’s popularity. The same process is done over and over with perhaps thousands of fake accounts being set up. This deceives other shoppers regarding the product’s quality.

While brushing may seem innocuous, there can be serious repercussions. The victim’s name is used to post favorable reviews for the products – which may not be items the victim wants to be associated with. The scam could also mean that one’s identity has been stolen. The activity may escalate to identity theft including opening new accounts and other unauthorized financial activity.

What should victims do? Where possible, report the scam to the retailer. They may be able to investigate and prevent further unauthorized use of the victim’s name or subsequent illicit activity. Amazon, for example, prohibits the practice and will investigate and potentially suspend the scammer. If the victim’s information is from the dark web, there could be other information – such as bank account numbers –exposed. Bank accounts and credit reports should be monitored for unauthorized activity. Victims are not required to pay for or return items they did not order.  If there is “postage due” ask the shipping company to return to sender.

Bad actors are constantly scheming to target unsuspecting victims. Brushing is one of the newer tactics.  Helping clients protect their identity and avoid becoming victims of scams like brushing is another sign of the true insurance professional.

This article is for educational and discussion purposes only and it is not insurance or legal advice and should not be relied upon when making insurance or legal decisions. Nothing herein shall be construed to constitute a legal or underwriting opinion. Nothing herein shall be construed as offering any political, social, or public policy opinion by the author or MSO. Neither the author nor MSO are responsible for errors in, or the accuracy or currentness of, the article.