People are being advised to be aware of products they didn't order online arriving to their home.
It comes after a woman received a package in the post with what appeared to be a diamond ring inside.
After asking family and friends, nobody said they had sent her anything.
She came to the conclusion that she was the target of a brushing scam.
The ring that arrived unsolicited to a woman's home. Picture by: SuppliedThis occurs when a person receives a package from a business containing various items that they never ordered.
The packages will be addressed to your residence, but usually do not have a return address.
The scammer typically orders the merchandise using a third-party seller like Amazon or eBay.
Their aim is to pose as a verified buyer of that product, so they can post a fake positive review online to boost their product rating and popularity.
Newstalk Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly told Moncrieff where the term comes from.
"It's a brand that brushes in connection with a consumer - there's no direct interaction," she said.
"A brand that sells products - often cheap products - they're looking to boost their visibility online in terms of an e-commerce site.
"They need reviews to get that".
The ring that arrived unsolicited to a woman's home. Picture by: SuppliedJess said this likely means your personal information is available somewhere online.
"They will send products to individuals who didn't order them... under that name, so the product will arrive to somebody's address so it appears in the system as being a legitimate order", she said.
"They then can log in and use the same e-mail address that was associated with the order and leave a five-star review, saying it's a sensational product.
"The person who received this ring had never heard of the brand, never interacted with them, never even Googled the brand.
"It's just because their data was somewhere else on the internet, fell into the hands of the wrong people and they got a product," she added.
People affected by such scams are advised to contact the Gardaí, notify the platform in question (eg Amazon, eBay, etc), change your passwords and monitor your accounts.
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