SAN ANTONIO, Texas – This may be the season for secret Santas, but a mysterious package that recently arrived in Jennifer Fox’s mailbox generated suspicions instead of festive feelings.
“I opened it up and it was a ring,” she said, showing off the tiny box.
Fox said a quick check with loved ones, including her husband, told her this was not an early Christmas present from them.
The return address on the white bubble envelope showed it had come from California.
“I know companies maybe sell my information,” Fox said, explaining how a stranger may have obtained her name and address.
While a free and unexpected gift may seem like a good thing, it can be a reason to raise an eyebrow and maybe even worry just a bit.
A website for the US Postal Service describes a scheme, known as “brushing,” which shares some similarities with Fox’s story.
According to the information on the USPS website, brushing involves someone sending a mysterious package in the mail to a person. The sender then uses that person’s name to write phony reviews of the item that was sent.
The bogus reviews help to boost the ratings and sales of the product online, the website said.
Although it may seem like a harmless situation, the postal service warns that there could be other dangers involved, such as suspicious substances contained in the packages, or people being swindled into paying for the unexpected item.
In Fox’s case, she believes there is even more involved.
She said the package with the ring also contained a card with a QR on it, inviting her to click on it to learn more about a warranty for the ring.
“Luckily I didn’t click on it,” she said. “What we had read (online) is that they gain access to your phone because you’re clicking with your phone on the QR code.”
Videos posted across social media seem to support what Fox read.
In them, numerous people claim to have clicked on the QR code and become victimized.
The postal service said anyone who receives a mysterious gift like this can either keep the item, try to return it to the sender, or throw it away.
The agency also recommends notifying law enforcement.
A spokesperson for the San Antonio Police Department said she was not familiar with this particular scheme and had not received any reports from potential victims.