Get a package in the mail you didn’t order? It could be a scam

CHARLOTTE — It’s nice getting free stuff sometimes, but if you get items in the mail that you didn’t order, Action 9 has a warning that it could be a scam.

Frances Whitley said she got about 10 packages from Amazon that she didn’t order. She told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke that she got a variety of items, including solar lights, throw pillow covers, Halloween spiders, small battery-powered Halloween pumpkins and a phone cover.

Unfortunately, the items are part of a scam called “brushing,” where an online seller is trying to boost its reviews, so it manages to get your name and address, and then sends you unsolicited items. Then the seller posts a great review of the product in your name.

The scam costs the seller almost nothing.

Whitley worries about her privacy and her name being attached to a scam, however.

“People just need to be aware that this does happen,” she said.

Stoogenke suggests that if you receive free stuff in the mail that you did not order, change your Amazon password and throw the item away. Do not use or wear any of the items you get, because they could be contaminated or contain chemicals not approved for use in this country.

(WATCH: Action 9: Watch out for “unclaimed rewards” scam)

Action 9: Watch out for ‘unclaimed rewards’ scam

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