Got a package you didn't order? It could be part of a brushing scam

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Most people love getting things for free.

But if you have free stuff showing up at your door, and you don't know why you're getting it, you may have become part of a brushing scam.

A viewer sent the News 8 On Your Side team a picture of a piece of jewelry she received but didn't order.

She said there was no receipt or invoice with the Moissanite ring, but there was a card directing her to a website to register the item.

She also noticed two labels on the package. When she peeled off the top label she found another label – also addressed to her – but with a return address from China.

Here's how this scam works: Companies, usually foreign, are sending items using your address that they discovered online.

Their intention is to make it appear as though you wrote a glowing online review of their merchandise, and that you are a verified buyer of that merchandise.

They then post a fake, positive review to improve their products' ratings, which means more sales for them.

In some cases, these items are sent to your address and porch pirates wait for them to be delivered so they can steal them.

These scams don't cost you money. By law, since you didn't order these items, you don't have to pay for them.

But consumers who read the bogus reviews will get ripped off, and you certainly don't want your name and address to be associated with that kind of thing.

You should notify the retailer and the shipper if you get something you didn't order.

In most brushing cases, items are sent through Amazon, so you should notify that company too. You can do that here.