Greg's Corner

New brushing scam sends you white powder

Brushing scams are unfortunately, nothing new. This is when you get sent packages to your home of things you didn’t order. Usually, they come from Amazon or some other large online retailer. This is done so third-party vendors with these retailers can give themselves good online reviews in your name. This makes it look like their product was favorably reviewed by verified purchasers. The most infamous brushing scam took place over this past summer when thousands of consumers received unsolicited packages of seeds in the mail.

We may be facing yet another one of these massive brushing scam incidents. Police in the Indianapolis metro are reporting that residents there have been receiving quite an ominous delivery that they didn’t order. These packages have been said to contain a blue and white powdery substance. Local police say the substance isn’t harmful, but residents should still avoid contact with it. They are also recommending that if you receive one of these packages to contact your local police. The US Postal Inspection Service says that they’ve received reports of consumers from across the country receiving these packages.

While police in Indiana are stating that the scammers are getting consumers’ personal information from public sources like social media, often these brushing scams can mean one of your online accounts has been compromised. For example, if you received one of these brushing packages from Amazon, your Amazon account may have been compromised. It’s recommended that you change your password if this happens to you. If you were to leave your password the way it is, that could lead to items being purchased with your money. There is also the potential that it could lead to identity theft.

While the brushing scam may seem relatively harmless at first, it could lead to a world of trouble if the consumer isn’t careful.