That mystery package wasn’t a gift from Amazon. It was part of an online scam
In the depths of our Central Coast winter, even when the weather cooperates beautifully, we don’t go out much.
I’m the primary caregiver for a stroke survivor with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, allergies and other complications. It just doesn’t seem wise to take him out and about into the rain, wind, pollen and other stuff that could make him sick.
Add flu season to the mix, along with the looming specter of the new coronavirus from China, and cocooning sounds like the best option for now.
So, I’ll be ordering online more often.
But recently, internet ordering got out of control — or at least out of my control.
I got several packages in the mail on the same day day: a birthday gift for a friend, a kitchen gadget and a heavy box from Amazon that had me puzzled.
The box held two books — both on a topic that’s absolutely not in my wheelhouse, the history of choir directing.
Thinking with great embarrassment that I’d just opened someone else’s misdelivered package, I looked at the label. No, I thought, that’s my name and address. Curiouser and curiouser.
On a researcher’s hunch, I checked my Amazon order log to make sure I hadn’t done something really bizarre in my sleep one night. But, no, I hadn’t ordered those books.
So, why me? Am I going to have to pay for something I didn’t order and definitely don’t want? And now that the books are here, what the heck am I supposed to do with them?
I searched online for one of the book titles, then, on a hunch, checked the reviews. The Amazon profile name on one review made me suspicious.
When I clicked on that name, Amazon shifted me to a “community action” page that had MY name on it!
Somehow, someone had linked to my private profile, which included reviews of other books and products, along with a favorable review of this book that I had never heard of before, didn’t want, never read and most assuredly never reviewed.
That’s scary. Menacing, even. It feels like I’m being stalked.
I did some furious Googling, which led me to an Amazon-related package scam called “brushing.”
The Better Business Bureau says that a victim of brushing “has no idea who ordered the items,” which can vary wildly.
According to the bureau, companies — usually foreign, third-party sellers —use your Amazon account information to send you items, making it appear as though you, a verified buyer of that merchandise, wrote glowing online reviews of their products.
In reality, the companies posted those reviews themselves “to improve their products’ ratings, which means more sales for them,” the Better Business Bureau says. “The payoff is highly profitable from their perspective.”
Ah, yes, those coveted five-star product reviews.
The perpetrators have no financial risk. “By using the brushing scam, they also are increasing their sales numbers,” the bureau explains, and the money the sellers paid for the purchase “goes right back to them. Increased sales numbers, even though padded with fake purchases, look good for the company and help lead to more sales.”
Well, phoo.
The scam’s risky for us victims.
It means that the perps have some of your Amazon account information, such as your name and address, and possibly your phone number and a password. And that could lead to all kinds of ugly complications.
And there’s always the porch-pirate possibility. Thieves use other people’s mailing addresses and accounts to ship goods, including contraband and illegal items, then watch for the delivery of the package so they can steal it before that unwary recipient even knows something alarming has happened.
If brushing happens to you, the Better Business Bureau advises going “directly to Amazon’s website to get their contact information,” to avoid being misdirected to another scammer.
So, I contacted Amazon Help. After communicating briefly with a bot, I e-chatted with a series of real, live Amazon help people.
Bottom line: “They will investigate and take action on the bad actor,” the Better Business Bureau says.
I also reported the scam to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department, knowing they keep track of such things.
Fortunately, I put very little personal information onto any online profile, and a scammer would need my password to get into the more serious stuff.
After checking my credit card statement and credit report, I don’t think they had the password. At least, not yet. And yes, I’ve made some changes at Amazon.com.
As for the books, Amazon said I won’t be charged for them since I didn’t, indeed, order them. I can keep them, donate them or discard them.
So, I gave them to the Cambria Community Chorale. After all, something good has to come out of all this nonsense.
