Are crooks posting skin burning packages in the mail? Fact Check

Viral posts on social media warn of an apparent scheme where low cost items – such as face masks or socks – are posted to unwary recipients and have been tarnished with chemicals that burn your skin.

FALSE

An example of the warning on social media is below.

My Granddaughter just received this package in the mail. They live in Louisa, Virginia. My Niece and Nephew received one in Tennessee also. This is getting serious folks!!!
Received this package in the mail today. Neither me nor my husband ordered anything recently. Once opening I saw it was mask and knew for sure this wasn’t either of us! Earlier today I saw another post from another state of a woman receiving socks that she also did not order. She called the police and they came and got her package! I called the non emergency number where we live. And they also told me that this is something very serious. A chemical that when touching burns your skin! Just wanted to pass this along. We have small children and our oldest loves getting the mail! No more!!

The particular warning above has been spreading across social media since mid-2020, originally posted in August 2020 and has since racked up an impressive one million shares at the time of writing.

Despite the claim that such packages have been doused with dangerous skin burning chemicals, we’re yet to find any verifiable reports that such a sinister type of attack really is taking place, nor are we able to locate any warnings from any branch of law enforcement confirming that such warnings are genuine.

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If such alarming attacks really are taking place, we would imagine there would be no shortage of reputable sources confirming details are specific instances, as well as numerous details about ongoing investigations at to the sources. It should be noted that the above warning does bear resemblance to another false claim on social media that warned of thieves handing out chemically doused face masks door-to-door to render victims unconscious, at which point the thieves would then proceed to rob the victim’s house.

So while it doesn’t appear that chemically doused packages are being delivered to victims, there have been many reported cases of people receiving items in the post – often from China – containing low item products such as face masks and seeds – which the recipient did not order. Such reports peaked in 2020.

Many explanations have been proffered as to why such items are being posted, including drug smuggling. And while the exact reason for many of these unwanted and unrequested items turning up at doorsteps is unknown, perhaps the best explanation – put forth by the Federal Trade Commission – is that this is part of a scheme called “brushing”.

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What is a ‘brushing’ scheme?

This is where certain retailers will send out items to people so they can create fake positive reviews for themselves.

This works as follows –

1. The scheming retailer gets your name and address. This will most likely be from some past data breach.

2. If the retailer is selling, for example, via the Amazon marketplace, they create a fake Amazon account using your details.

3. The retailer then purchases one of their own items using that fake account.

4. Once that fake account has purchased the item, Amazon now allows that account to make a review, so the retailer gives a positive review using your details.

5. To make sure Amazon doesn’t get suspicious and to make it all appear entirely above-board, the retailer really will send out a package, and input the tracking number into Amazon. This is why victims really do report getting unrequested items in the post. If the retailer is selling low-cost items, they may just send you that same item. If the retailer is selling higher priced items, they’ll still send out a low-cost item, since all they really want is a tracking number to show the marketplace that they posted a package.

If you do start receiving unwanted items through the post, it is recommended that you contact the marketplace (if you can determine who it is) in order to get the retailer taken down and remove the fake accounts using your details.

As for the product itself, if you’re still wary of it, simply throw it away. You are not obligated to either pay for it or to send it back. In the US you can also report such incidents to the FTC.

As for the claim that attackers are sending out chemically doused items through the post, we rank that as false.