Scam
If you’re someone who relies on online reviews to make purchasing decisions, it’s time to be cautious. A new scam called ‘brushing’ is making its way through popular e-commerce platforms like Amazon and AliExpress, and it’s targeting unsuspecting shoppers like you. The scam involves fraudsters sending random, unwanted packages to people—items you never ordered—and using them to create fake reviews. These reviews make low-quality or counterfeit products appear better than they actually are, tricking other buyers into purchasing them.
The term ‘brushing’ comes from Chinese e-commerce, where sellers would artificially inflate their sales by creating fake orders and sending random products to people. This makes the product appear more popular, leading other customers to believe it’s highly rated. In reality, these products may be of poor quality or even fake.
In a brushing scam, scammers use stolen or fake addresses to send cheap items, like jewellery or gadgets, to random people. Once the product is delivered, they post fake reviews to boost the seller’s rating and increase the product’s visibility on the platform.
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Common items involved in this scam include inexpensive jewellery, seeds, or cheap gadgets.
If you receive a package you didn’t order, it’s likely part of a brushing scam. While it may seem harmless, these unsolicited deliveries can be a sign that your personal information has been compromised.
Receiving random packages could mean that your personal details have been stolen. Scammers often obtain names and addresses through data breaches or illegal methods. In some cases, they might even have other sensitive information, putting you at risk of identity theft.