ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – As the holiday shopping season approaches, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) says a scam is on the rise – it’s called the “brushing scam” – that uses people’s identities to boost online reviews and sales.
Here’s how it works, according to a recent alert from the BBB:
“Suddenly, boxes of unordered (by the recipient) merchandise from Amazon or other online sellers begin arriving. There is no return address, or sometimes it just appears to come from Amazon or another retailer, and the receiver has yet to learn who ordered the items. The items are varied. For example, in one case, a humidifier, a hand warmer, a flashlight, a Bluetooth speaker, and a computer vacuum cleaner arrived unordered. Often, the items received are lightweight and inexpensive to ship, such as ping pong balls, face masks, or seeds from China.
“Why would such merchandise be sent to you if you didn’t request it? The companies, …