Amazon is the United State’s largest online shopping location with thousands of different items and services. Amazon has become the target of various scams over the years. One of the most insidious scams is known as the Amazon Brushing Scam. How can you learn to recognize this scam, and what should you do if you become a victim? Follow our guide below to learn the signs of an Amazon Brushing Scam.
What is the Amazon Brushing Scam?
The Amazon Brushing Scam is a method of shady businesses appearing more legitimate. Businesses on Amazon who want their products to have better reviews will use the scam to increase their items’ ratings. The seller creates fake accounts using other’s personal information. This personal information could be from a data breach or could be publically available online.
Once the seller creates these fake accounts, they order their own products to the addresses. These fake orders allow the seller to leave positive reviews on their products. Victims of the scam only know something is wrong when unsolicited packages arrive at their door from a company they’ve never heard of.
If you’re worried about the items you’re buying online, check our online shopping guide here.
Famous Examples of the Brushing Scam
One of the most famous examples of a brushing scam is the recent news surrounding mysterious packages across America. Hundreds of people received unsolicited packages claiming to contain jewelry. The recipients opened the packages to discover they actually contained seeds.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, this was most likely a brushing scam. Chinese sellers were dispatching these packages so they could leave positive reviews on their cheap jewelry products.
What Should I Do?
If you become the victim of an Amazon Brushing Scam, you should take action straight away. Report the item to Amazon, so they’re aware of the scam. They may ask you to send the item to them so they can verify what is going on.
To contact Amazon, go to the site’s support page, and click ‘Start chatting now’ to talk to a bot.
If you’re using the bot, enter, “I received an item I didn’t buy.” The bot will ask you to click on the item in question. Click outside of the box, then click ‘Ask an associate’ and ‘Get help through chat’ to live chat with a human.
For more immediate help, contact Amazon directly from one of the numbers below.
UK: 0800 279 7234
US: 1-888-280-4331
Your data may have been leaked or compromised. You should change your Amazon password and cancel your credit cards to be safe. If you’ve used the same password on Amazon for other accounts you have online, you need to change those too. Read our password guide here.
You should visit our guide on how to check if you’ve been hacked. This will help you to identify how the scammers got your address and other information.
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