Unexpected Ring Leads to ‘Disturbing’ Discovery: A Warning About ‘Brushing Scams’

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Pasoan Lorraine Ontiveros received an unexpected gift yesterday, a ring in a package that appeared to be from Amazon.

Inside, along with an authentication card from the company, was a second card containing a QR code asking for personal information.

Her children quickly recognized this as a "brushing scam", a scam intended to steal your I.P. address and personal information by installing malware on your device.

This ring scam is one of many, reportedly matching similar instances of these brushing scams from across the United States.

Although the FBI says they have not received reports of any brushing scams in El Paso, they strongly recommend to not engage with any pre-printed documentation or QR codes on packages you weren't expecting.

The Better Business Bureau currently has a scam alert in place regarding this QR code package scam.

This serves as another reminder to safeguard your personal information and to stay aware about current scam tactics.