Posted on 11/29/2024 5:03:02 PM PST by nickcarraway
Experts urge consumers to keep an eye on packages they never ordered
The U.S. Postal Service has warned about the scam in the past, which uses unexpected gifts delivered to a doorstep to lure victims.
Brushing scams are an emerging threat to unsuspecting consumers as Black Friday shopping begins.
The first type of the scam begins when fraudsters gain information such as a name and home address.
From there, scammers will set up an Amazon account with the victim’s information and send a package to the targeted person’s home with no return address.
“Once you have signed to confirm receipt of the parcel, the scammer then writes a positive verified review for the product in your name, to help improve their seller rating and to help drive more sales,” said Kushal Tantry of QR Code Developer, a company that allows users to create custom QR codes.
Another form of the brushing scams includes a QR code, where the recipient of the package is asked to register the new product or uncover who sent the package.
Once the QR code is scanned, the scammer will be able to access the victim’s personal and banking information.
Experts are recommending that people update passwords and don’t scan QR codes that are unfamiliar while checking bank accounts for unusual activity.
Never have tried one. Never intend to.
My old style AT&T Flip Phone doesn’t do QR codes. Doesn’t do texts, email or messages; I turned that crap off. My home desktop does email.
You’re like a caveman with wi fi
I’ve never used my flip phone for anything but phone calls, though I think it would do texts and such. As it is, I’ve never sent a text in my life, and the phone spends 99% of its time in a desk drawer, turned off. Like you, I have a desktop for email.
I was told they can contain viruses. So I don’t scan them either. During covid, it was infuriating when restaurants wanted to make you scan a QR code to see their menu.
>>Once you have signed to confirm receipt of the parcel
I don’t recall amazon ever asking for a signature.
>>Once the QR code is scanned, the scammer will be able to access the victim’s personal and banking information.
How do they get personal and banking information from a QR code scan?
Article is thin on details, so call me suspicious. Media makes money from alarming people.
LOL.
Only calls, nothing else, and some days, I get a lot.
Spyware
I was told they can contain viruses. So I don’t scan them either. During covid, it was infuriating when restaurants wanted to make you scan a QR code to see their menu.
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I wouldn’t do it either. Walked out of a couple, they apologized all the way out but too bad. Didn’t yell at them, just told them “a menu please.”
It's like giving someone a ball of twine to braid the rope to hang themselves with, and they willingly do it!
Also keep your credit and charge cards in a metal shielded wallet. I only use American Express. No ATM or bank account linked cards. American Express isn't a bank. It's not a credit card. It is a charge card. I can go buy a brand new car with it, or even a house, but the bill is due in full in 30 days. When I use it for more than $10K, my fingerprint verifies the purchase was me. Any out of the normal charge and I get an email to authenticate my intended purchase. Any very small probing charges also get declined, as they are typically just probing your account.
Article is poorly written and useless.
>>Once the QR code is scanned, the scammer will be able to access the victim’s personal and banking information.
How do they get personal and banking information from a QR code scan?
Article is thin on details, so call me suspicious. Media makes money from alarming people.
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From old reading, the QR code has enough information to send your phone whatever to a website. That’s when the damage starts. Phones and Windows both leak like sieves.
Never heard of Flip Phone Porn either.
My father used to carry a cell phone in his car, but never turned it on. He said was there for when HE wanted to make a call, not to make it easier for others to reach him. 😀
I use my flip phone for phone calls and texts. I had to learn texting in self-defense when my kids were in college. If they were inn class, they couldn’t answer the phone call, but could text me back. And usually it was to let me know they’d call back later when class was over.
I complety understand undsrstand his POV. I lost my mark of the beast for 3+ years after baiting my stepson’s hook. Ploop. Bottom of the lake. Best 3 years of silence. Then my mom got sick of going through my sexretary and insisted i get a phone again. Today. Hi.
I’d have no clue how to scan a QR code.
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