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have you ever received a package full of
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random items that you didn't order if so
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you might have been a victim of a scam
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that is targeting millions of people
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across the country nbc10 consumer
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investigative reporter Leslie gatus is
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here to tell us more about Leslie what's
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called brushing scams yeah a lot of
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people have never heard of this but a
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package is delivered it's for you but
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you didn't order it and you don't want
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the contents of it you're left wondering
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what's going on but unexpected orders of
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random merchandise can indicate a
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brushing scam and brushing scams are
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used by some unscrupulous online
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retailers to bolster their businesses
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here's how it works scammers create fake
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accounts using real names and addresses
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to place orders for their own products
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this can be done by third-party sellers
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who are trying to achieve verified
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Merchant status on a site once that
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unsolicited package is shipped and
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delivered they write a glowing fake
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review in your name to improve their
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product rating the goal is to make the
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product appear more popular and reliable
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and while it sounds harmless your
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personal information could be
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compromised it's already telling us that
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our data is there maybe they obtain this
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information in a data broker site or
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they actually were able to in a data
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bridge in the that web they were able to
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obtain it maybe that specific scenario
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doesn't look so problematic but it tells
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us that something bigger is happening in
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the background so it's just the first
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the step of something that could be very
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negative at the end if you receive
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something that you did not order first
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you want to confirm with family and
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friends that it isn't a gift that
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someone sent you that you didn't know
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about uh if you discover that it was an
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unsolicited G uh package contact the
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seller or retailer about the mistake you
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can either discard the package or return
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it to the sender these products are
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usually cheap and are not very useful
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you do want to change your account
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password and monitor your bank accounts
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closely for any unusual activity after
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this happens consider freezing your
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credit this will prevent anyone from
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trying to open anything in your name and
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you also want to report the incident to
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the Federal Trade Commission another
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thing don't ever pay for any packages
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that you didn't order if the seller
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later reaches out to you or the delivery
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company says that postage is due on that
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pack package tell them you didn't place
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the order and you want it returned to
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the sender but don't pay any money we
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have a link for Norton's full list of
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tips for brushing scams on our website
