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Getting unexpected Amazon packages? Here's why it may be a scam

Here's what to know if you get an unexpected deliveries.

There's nothing like the thrill of an unexpected delivery at your front door. Unless it's not a gift at all, but a scam.

Karen Baumann said she opened her front door the other day and wondered if a relative had sent her a holiday gift. 

"A little blue pen," Baumann said. 

But no one she knew had sent it and the package only said "Amazon Prime."

When the first package showed up, Baumann thought it was an innocent mistake. But then a second package showed up and Karen began to get concerned.

This time, the Amazon delivery was a scooter for a little child.

"It's a scooter, it's in a sizable box."

But Baumann has no young children. So she used Amazon's webchat program and learned she may have been a victim of the "brushing scam."

The Better Business Bureau said that's when a third-party seller gets your address and information and sends you an inexpensive item to boost their rankings on Amazon.

Other victims report receiving socks, seeds or face masks, which is what Angela Osborne received last summer.

"I noticed this odd package with all the Chinese writing, and I said I didn't order anything from China," said Osborne.

It's not harmless. The scammer had access to Baumann's Amazon account and credit card, billing her $80.

"I've had to get a new Visa card because that one was charged. Someone has used that number."

Sometimes the items show up free. But that still means someone has your name and address so you may want to change your Amazon account number just to be safe. 

Baumann's glad she caught these little items before an even bigger purchase. So be careful and don't waste your money.

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