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.
“restaurants wanted to make you scan a QR code to see their menu.”
Wow. That’s harsh. I never saw that, and I certainly wouldn’t do it.
When we sit down, if our table has one of those gizmos to make payment I just move it to another table. Enough already.
I have absolutely no idea how a QR code lets someone access your bank account. QR codes are simply web addresses and do not log you into your bank and then let strangers take out your money.
Even if it sent you to Amazon and you were logged in, it's only you going there. Even if they were going there and not you, Amazon doesn't show your credit card information on screen. They only show the name of the card and a couple digits of it.
I say this news report has a whole lot wrong or unstated.
Exactly what I just wrote.
QR codes can’t contain a virus, but they could route you to a server that might try to infect you with malware.
That said, every website on the Internet can do that same thing, and that is why your phone has protections against such infections.
Zero day exploits could possibly do this, but there are so few examples, simply because they immediately get blocked permanently by antivirus software or OS or program updates.
I use 6 different cards, including Walmart, home Depot, Lowes
etc because of extra discounts made with store card.
Started using credit cards 25 years ago, never had a single problem with any cards. Actually it has been easy to dispute charges and I have been credited back the disputed amount every time.
Have not visited bank to withdraw cash in decades. I am totally cashless for decades now. I like the convenience, discounts, no interest charge since I pay all amounts due in full every month. In short, I get to use bank money for free for upto 2 months.
The best card has been GM card, which gives me 5% credit on every purchase towards discount on buying new GM cars. Bought 4 new cars every 7 years with $3500 additional discount on each car.
I use 6 different cards, including Walmart, home Depot, Lowes
etc because of extra discounts made with store card.
Started using credit cards 25 years ago, never had a single problem with any cards. Actually it has been easy to dispute charges and I have been credited back the disputed amount every time.
Have not visited bank to withdraw cash in decades. I am totally cashless for decades now. I like the convenience, discounts, no interest charge since I pay all amounts due in full every month. In short, I get to use bank money for free for upto 2 months.
The best card has been GM card, which gives me 5% credit on every purchase towards discount on buying new GM cars. Bought 4 new GM cars with $3500 additional discount on each car.
‘I don’t recall amazon ever asking for a signature.”
I caught that too, I’ve never signed for an Amazon package. Last thing I ever signed for was a legal document sent via UPS years ago.
And as others have said, my phone is not capable of scanning a qr code. Haven’t found any reason to do it.
The less digital stuff we use the less fraudulent schemes we find ourselves in.
If someone gets your your gmail login and password you’re screwed. Every username & password to every account you have (banks, credit cards, sites...) is in one excel file. To say nothing about your browsing history.
I’ve only had to sign for new Verizon cell phones. Nothing else that I can recall.
MayflowerMadam wrote:
“
“restaurants wanted to make you scan a QR code to see their menu.”
Wow. That’s harsh. I never saw that, and I certainly wouldn’t do it.
When we sit down, if our table has one of those gizmos to make payment I just move it to another table. Enough already.
“
I ran into the paperless restaurant deal when a relative was visiting and we went to a restaurant that had no menus only qr code at the table.
I didn’t have a phone with me and relative had to read the menu to me. I felt like I was a kid that couldn’t read so mom or dad had to read it to me. 😡
I would scan barcodes at work just to be nosy.
QR codes are modern day bar codes but with a much richer capability.
Bar codes are just a black box with lines that, when read by a scanner, input a series of numbers. Those numbers are correlated in a database to a product, for instance.
QR codes are a block of blocks that can represent letters, numbers, and symbols. They cannot in and of themselves contain a virus. However, they can take you to a website that could install malware or trick you into thinking you’re on a website you’re not.
QR codes are no more dangerous than HTML code. HTML code can be made to look like it’s taking you to your banking website but really take you to a scammers domain. Most smartphones have some sort of validation process when scanning a QR code where you can see what it scanned before you allow it to go to a website. Don’t blindly scan them, but they can be very useful and fun. I have a QR code on my business card that creates a vCard on your phone with my professional contact information, for instance.
“I don’t recall amazon ever asking for a signature.”
Amazon does require a signature for some things, but I believe it’s the seller’s requirement.
“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.”
That is me.
The phone is for my convenience—not for telemarketers, hackers and scammers.
If you want to call me use my land line.
Needless to say I would never download any apps and never use a QR code.
I do not trust any of that technology.
The problem is not that it does not work.
The problem is that it works too well with dubious security.
Your cell phone is a weapon that can spy on you and steal everything you have.
This is just one well publicized example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_(spyware)
They are many many more where that came from.
Any claim that cell phones are protected from spyware and hackers is bogus—full stop.
Gee Moe wonder why the QR code was invented.
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