New ‘brushing’ scam alert as victims are reported in Colorado

On December 18, 2024By Littum

CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – A Colorado sheriff’s office is warning the public about a scam currently popping up across the country.

“We have some unconfirmed reports that some Chaffee County residents have already been victimized,” the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said.

It’s called the “brushing” scam, and it’s easy to fall victim to – especially at Christmas time.

“A ‘brushing’ scam is when someone receives an unexpected gift or item that was not ordered in the mail from a place like Amazon or another company,” CCSO explained. “Examples of gifts include rings, bracelets, necklaces, Bluetooth speaker, etc. The gift will have the recipient’s address, but not contain the sender’s information or be from a known retailer. When the recipient opens the package to see what it is and possibly who sent it, there is a QR code that needs to be scanned to find out who sent the gift.”

The gift is just window dressing; The QR code is the key to the scam.

“Once the code is scanned, all the information from that phone will be sent to fraudsters. They get all access to the phone. All personal and financial information is available to the fraudsters, and often the victim’s bank accounts are drained.”

sheriff’s office advice?

“Inform your family members about the scam and avoid scanning unknown QR codes included in the package.”