Unboxing Deception: The Growing Threat of the Brushing Scam

Brushing scams are a type of online marketplace manipulation that exploits the trust systems of e-commerce platforms and the curiosity of consumers who enjoy unboxing content. At its core, brushing involves a seller creating phony purchases that produce shipment confirmations and, sometimes, five-star product reviews. These sham transactions inflate a product's visibility and perceived popularity, deceiving real shoppers and harming legitimate sellers.

How brushing scams work

1. Fake orders — A seller or third-party fraudster places orders for a seller’s products using real or fabricated customer accounts. Payment may be processed using stolen card details, shell accounts, or even no payment if the platform allows “gifting” or payment-on-delivery loopholes.
2. Fulfillment and shipping — The seller ships low-cost items (or sometimes no item at all) to the listed addresses. In many schemes, small inexpensive products—phone cases, beads, or low-value trinkets—are sent in unmarked packages to unsuspecting recipients.
3. Confirmed delivery and review prompts — The platform receives tracking and delivery confirmation, which counts the transaction as completed. The platform then prompts the recipient to leave a review or rating; occasionally the fraudster uses the recipient’s account (if compromised) to post a glowing review.
4. Visibility manipulation — Accumulated orders, shipments and reviews boost the item’s algorithmic ranking, making it appear popular and trustworthy to future buyers.

Why it matters

Brushing scams distort marketplace integrity in several ways. Consumers can be misled into buying lower-quality items because the reviews and sales counts are artificially inflated. Honest sellers lose visibility and sales when competitors game ranking systems. For logistics and fulfillment networks, brushing creates noise: unexpected shipments, increased return handling, inventory mismatches, and higher operational costs. Social media unboxing culture amplifies the problem: unsolicited packages can show up in influencer videos, lending the scam a veneer of authenticity.

Common signs of brushing activity

• Sudden, unexplained spikes in small-value orders for a product.
• Many orders shipped to unrelated addresses but confirmed delivered rapidly.
• High volume of positive reviews with short, generic praise and little detail.
• Tracking numbers that appear valid but show minimal transit activity or use the same carrier route repeatedly.
• Multiple reviews from users who have no other purchase history or who post reviews for many unrelated products in quick succession.

Real-world examples

While specific case names and legal outcomes vary by region, marketplace operators and journalists have documented patterns where sellers—sometimes based overseas—sent thousands of inexpensive items to addresses in the United States and Europe to generate review momentum. Recipients often discovered the packages by mail or by seeing strangers’ unboxing videos on social platforms, prompting investigations by platforms and media outlets into seller ecosystems and review authenticity.

Impacts across the supply chain

• Consumers — Risk of identity exposure (if personal addresses are used), confusion from misleading product ratings, and potential receipt of unsolicited goods.
• Sellers — Loss of fair competition, tarnished marketplace reputation, and potential penalties if platforms detect and punish manipulative activity.
• Warehouses & carriers — Increased processing for unexpected outbound shipments, returns, and reconciliations. Higher volumes of small parcels can strain handling workflows and increase costs per unit.
• Platforms — Distorted search and recommendation results, loss of customer trust, and the need to invest in detection and compliance systems.

Detection and prevention strategies

Combating brushing requires layered controls at the marketplace, merchant, and logistics levels:

• Platform controls — Implement machine-learning models and rule-based systems that flag unusual order patterns, detect clusters of accounts tied to the same IP ranges or devices, verify genuine purchaser behavior, and scrutinize reviews for similarity and timing patterns.
• Seller verification and monitoring — Strengthen KYC (know your customer) for marketplace sellers, monitor sudden changes in sales velocity, and require additional documentation for unusual fulfillment patterns.
• Order and address validation — Use address verification services (AVS), verify billing and shipping address relationships, and require additional authentication for high-risk or anomalous orders.
• Logistics controls — Warehouses and carriers should reconcile shipment manifests against verified orders, flag bulk shipments of low-value items, and maintain audit trails that link orders to payment and seller IDs.
• Review gating policies — Limit review prompts for accounts that show anomalous behavior, and use review authenticity platforms that analyze reviewer history and content quality.

What consumers should do if they receive an unsolicited package

1. Do not post a review for an item you did not purchase; platforms may use reviews tied to delivery confirmations as a signal.
2. Check account activity and change passwords if you suspect your account was used.
3. Report the package and any corresponding emails or messages to the marketplace and the carrier; they can investigate patterns and revoke seller privileges.
4. Document the package contents and tracking information before disposing of or returning the item.

Legal and platform responses

Marketplaces often classify brushing as a violation of seller terms and may suspend or remove offending accounts. In some jurisdictions, regulatory authorities and consumer protection agencies have investigated review manipulation and deceptive trade practices. Because brushing can involve stolen payment data, identity misuse, or mail fraud, criminal and civil statutes may also apply where evidence supports such charges.

Conclusion



Brushing scams are an evolving risk that leverages both the mechanics of e-commerce platforms and the social proof of unboxing culture. Successful mitigation requires cooperation between marketplaces, sellers, logistics providers, and consumers. By combining technical detection, stricter seller verification, careful fulfillment controls, and consumer awareness, stakeholders can reduce the incidence of brushing and preserve trust in online shopping ecosystems.