Experts have issued a warning about an online shopping scam that's hitting Amazon customers who receive surprise parcels on their doorsteps.
The consumer watchdog Which? calls this trick a 'brushing' scam which allows dodgy sellers to leave a five-star review on their own profile.
The new scam, according to the consumer group, has seen a number of people receiving unsolicited 'Suzhichou' scarves, writes Mirror Money.
By submitting fake orders in order to create illicit reviews, the seller ranks higher in search results.
"Ultimately, this results in more people seeing and buying their poor-quality products, under the impression that they’re highly rated," Which? says.
More worryingly, however, those targeted by this scam may have previously given out personal details without knowing or realising.
While your financial data is safe, being targeted could mean that a fraudster has somehow got a hold of your name and address.
Which? suggests that this information was gathered after purchasing a different item online, through your details being on a publicly available source, or as part of a data leak.
The consumer group explains there is another variation of the "brushing" scam.
It involves you ordering an item from a marketplace but being sent a completely different item.
"In these instances, the fraudster sends out a cheap product with the same tracking number that was generated by your actual order," they said.
If you think you’ve fallen victim to this scam, you can report the unwanted package to Amazon using an online form.
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