{"id":21611,"date":"2026-02-15T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/2026\/02\/15\/scams-britons-have-been-told-to-watch-out-for-mysterious-packages-as-new-scams-surge-fraud\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T07:00:00","slug":"scams-britons-have-been-told-to-watch-out-for-mysterious-packages-as-new-scams-surge-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/2026\/02\/15\/scams-britons-have-been-told-to-watch-out-for-mysterious-packages-as-new-scams-surge-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Scams: Britons have been told to watch out for mysterious packages as new scams surge | fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

My package arrived, but I don’t remember what I ordered.<\/p>\n

When you open it, you will find cheap and shabby trinkets inside.<\/p>\n

Is this a case of mistaken identity or did someone accidentally choose the wrong address? You put it aside and see if anyone claims it or contact you to ask if they received the gift, but no one does.<\/p>\n

It’s not uncommon for packages to get lost, but when one arrives with all your details, it has likely become an unsuspecting cog in a large-scale "brushing” scam – a scam that is on the rise, according to online security experts.<\/p>\n

Scammers need postage details, which are often obtained through data breaches. They then set up fake online accounts in your name on shopping sites that sell the products and post fake, verified, positive reviews that appear to have been written by you about the products you received.<\/p>\n

These positive 5-star reviews \u201cboost\u201d a shopping site\u2019s online ranking and trustworthiness. In theory, this could increase sales. Products must be sent to customers for purchases and reviews to be verified, says Oliver Devane of security company McAfee. These fake verified reviews often get paid.<\/p>\n

Although it may seem like a victimless scam, it may highlight that your personal information has been hacked. It’s also risky to bring home potentially harmful toys or cosmetics, Devane says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s a small toy you give your child, you have no idea about its quality. This in itself is dangerous. You have no idea where it came from or what\u2019s in it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

what it looks like<\/h2>\n

Packages will come out of nowhere and can include anything from keychain tools to random household items and even plant seeds. The content is likely to be cheap and of poor quality. This can happen at any time of the year, but product deliveries peak during busy shopping periods.<\/p>\n

In some cases, scammers may send QR codes or USB sticks with the product in hopes that people will scan them or insert them into their computers, Devane says. This may add some malware to your phone or laptop and cause your data to be stolen.<\/p>\n

what to do<\/h2>\n

If you see something unexpected in the post, do not use or ingest it as it can be dangerous. For example, a toy may not be produced to appropriate standards or a perfume may contain harmful ingredients.<\/p>\n

Check your online account to make sure there are no unauthorized orders, then report them to the marketplace the order was sent to.<\/p>\n

Amazon says third-party sellers are prohibited from sending unsolicited packages to customers, and there are ways to report them here. If you can identify a fake review in your name, you can notify the shopping site you do business with and take action.<\/p>\n

Devane recommends changing your password for your online shopping account and enabling two-step verification.<\/p>\n

Do not attempt to return it to the retailer. Doing so will encourage them to engage with you more and initiate more scams. Instead, they said you can just throw it away after reporting it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My package arrived, but I don’t remember what I ordered. When you open it, you will find cheap and shabby trinkets inside. Is this a case of mistaken identity or did someone accidentally choose the wrong address? You put it aside and see if anyone claims it or contact you to ask if they received […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3093,7217,10573,49373,14734,47583,16433],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-consumer-affairs","category-internet","category-money","category-scams","category-shopping","category-technology","category-uk-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21611\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}