Who wouldn’t love to receive a beautiful diamond ring in the mail? If you do, beware! It’s a scam.
People across the country and even here in San Diego County have reported receiving mysterious packages addressed to them with a sparkling ring inside. But there’s something else lurking in the package that could cause harm.
Chula Vista resident Aaron Mata said his wife received a package in the mail one day, shipped via USPS Priority Mail and addressed to her.
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“When we opened it up the first thing I noticed I said, ‘Hey, that's a nice little jewelry box’,” Mata said. “And we opened the box and there was a diamond ring.”
He said she hadn’t ordered anything, and they looked at the package again to make sure it was addressed to them.
“I initially said, ‘Oh you have some explaining to do. Who's sending you some diamond rings?’,” Mata told us with a laugh.
NBC 7 Responds
The ring doesn’t have real diamonds, of course. Two cards that came with it say it’s a cheaper alternative called moissanite.
Another card in the package asks you to scan a QR code to register the ring.
“Our red flags started going off,” Mata said. “We didn’t scan anything.”
And good thing they didn’t. It’s a scam making its way across the country. Mata saw media reports similar to this one when he did an internet search and decided to contact NBC 7 Responds to help get the word out to San Diegans.
“I know there are some people who may not have the kind of knowledge, or breadth of knowledge when it comes to online scams like brushing, this would be a good case of brushing,” Mata told us.
A brushing scam is when you receive something you didn’t order in the mail. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has warned of these scams.
In a public service announcement, the USPIS says companies sending the items use your address to make it look like a verified purchase. Then they’ll post fake positive reviews on their website which translates into more sales for them.
But whoever’s sending these rings may be looking for more than a good review. The package comes with a danger - that QR code.
We didn’t scan it, so we’re not sure exactly what it does. But doing so could put your phone, and in turn, your personal information at risk.
“To go to such levels to scam someone is pretty interesting,” Mata said. Interesting, but not surprising to Mata who’s a security specialist by trade.
“Online fraudsters are getting smarter every day to try and use our personal data to reach out to us, and then use our personal data to get our online banking information, our identity and our social security number and all those things.”
If you receive one of these rings or anything you didn’t order in the mail, as long as it’s addressed to you, you are allowed by law to keep it. Just don’t scan any QR codes.
