The Real Deal About Scam Warning on NJ Facebook Pages

🔴   Viral scam warning on FB is partially correct

🔴   Never give out your personal information

🔴   You do not have to return unsolicited gifts

A scam warning has gone viral on Facebook, and while many legitimate law enforcement agencies have shared it, the warning isn't totally correct.

The warning states,

Beware of Brushing Scam! A "brushing" scam is when someone receives an unexpected gift or item not ordered in the mail from a place like Amazon or other company. Examples of gifts include, rings, bracelets, necklaces, Bluetooth speaker, etc. The gift will have the recipient’s address, but not include the sender's information or be from a known retailer.

So far, so good.  This part of the warning is pretty straightforward.

However, the warning goes on to say,

When the recipient opens the package to see what it is and possibly who sent it, there is  a QR code to scan to find out who sent the gift.

Once the code is scanned, all the information from that phone will be sent to scammers.

Data such as your general location, the time of day you scanned the code, and the number of times you scanned the code are all things the creator of the code can see.

A QR code can't extract any personal information.

However, there is still an opportunity of danger.

The danger would be self-inflicted.

Once you scan the QR code, you will typically be directed to a web link to a site offering deals for restaurants or other places that are fake sites.

This is where you get scammed.

You'll be prompted to enter personal information to redeem the "deals."

The scammers are counting on people to enter personal information such as credit card numbers, birthdates, addresses, and other information that will help scammers take your money.

As we've warned in previous stories about scams, never give out your personal information to anyone you don't know.

Scammers are masters at creating documents and sites that look legitimate.

Banks and other legitimate retailers will not contact you asking for personal information.

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Another point I've made in previous stories is that you should make sure parents and grandparents are warned about the dangers of giving out information.

There are many stories of elderly people ripped off by scammers.

By the time you realize you were scammed, it's too late.

Source:  MSN