A recent scam has been showing up in many states, including Iowa. “brushing”, is a scam that happens 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, & electronics. The gift will have the recipient’s address, but not include 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 to scan to find out who sent the gift.
Once the code is scanned, there is potential for your information from that phone to be sent to scammers. They have a chance to receive all access to the phone. This puts all your personal and financial information in jeopordy of being stolenby the scammers and often the victim’s bank accounts are drained once accessed. The gift can be kept or thrown away, but the QR code should NOT be scanned for any reason.
QR code scams are nothing new. These scams show up in all places, including parking meters. Inform your family members about the scam and avoid scanning any unknown QR codes included in the package