<s>
Brushing	B-Application
is	O
a	O
deceitful	O
technique	O
sometimes	O
used	O
in	O
e-commerce	O
to	O
boost	O
a	O
seller	O
's	O
ratings	O
by	O
creating	O
fake	O
orders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brushing	B-Application
consists	O
of	O
generating	O
fake	O
orders	O
to	O
boost	O
the	O
rating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
e-commerce	O
sites	O
have	O
recognized	O
the	O
problem	O
and	O
claim	O
to	O
actively	O
combat	O
brushing	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brushing	B-Application
also	O
inflates	O
the	O
numbers	O
reported	O
on	O
a	O
company	O
's	O
financial	O
statements	O
,	O
and	O
therefore	O
it	O
also	O
attracts	O
the	O
scrutiny	O
of	O
investors	O
and	O
market	O
regulators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2019	O
,	O
consumers	O
were	O
warned	O
to	O
be	O
wary	O
of	O
unsolicited	O
Amazon	B-Application
packages	O
following	O
reports	O
of	O
individuals	O
receiving	O
packages	O
they	O
never	O
ordered	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
such	O
brushing	B-Application
schemes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Amazon	B-Application
's	O
system	O
,	O
those	O
making	O
the	O
original	O
purchase	O
are	O
allowed	O
to	O
leave	O
a	O
verified	O
review	O
for	O
the	O
product	O
,	O
thus	O
boosting	O
the	O
rating	O
by	O
posting	O
a	O
fake	O
five-star	O
review	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Customers	O
who	O
believed	O
they	O
may	O
have	O
been	O
the	O
victim	O
of	O
brushing	B-Application
scams	I-Application
were	O
advised	O
to	O
immediately	O
notify	O
the	O
retailer	O
in	O
question	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
change	O
their	O
password	O
and	O
possibly	O
utilize	O
credit-monitoring	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
early	O
reports	O
traced	O
the	O
story	O
to	O
a	O
Facebook	B-Application
post	I-Application
by	O
a	O
woman	O
in	O
Tooele	O
,	O
Utah	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
drawn	O
many	O
of	O
her	O
neighbors	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mysterious	O
seeds	O
caused	O
biosecurity	O
concerns	O
but	O
were	O
thought	O
to	O
be	O
another	O
brushing	B-Application
scam	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
September	O
2020	O
the	O
Utah	O
Department	O
of	O
Agriculture	O
and	O
Food	O
announced	O
that	O
Amazon	B-Application
had	O
agreed	O
to	O
a	O
voluntary	O
US	O
inbound	O
seed	O
quarantine	O
,	O
wherein	O
they	O
would	O
delist	O
seeds	O
from	O
outside	O
the	O
US	O
that	O
any	O
seller	O
attempted	O
to	O
sell	O
into	O
the	O
US	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alibaba	O
and	O
eBay	B-Application
's	O
plant	O
security	O
practices	O
were	O
investigated	O
by	O
James	O
Comer	O
,	O
Ranking	O
Member	O
of	O
the	O
House	O
Oversight	O
and	O
Reform	O
Committee	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
October	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
Australian	O
Department	O
of	O
Agriculture	O
said	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
received	O
228	O
reports	O
and	O
had	O
decided	O
to	O
start	O
using	O
a	O
new	O
x-ray	B-Library
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
existing	O
x-ray	B-Library
scanners	O
used	O
at	O
borders	O
,	O
these	O
would	O
use	O
automated	O
processing	O
of	O
the	O
x-ray	B-Library
images	O
themselves	O
,	O
which	O
the	O
DoA	O
expected	O
to	O
yield	O
more	O
thorough	O
results	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amazon	B-Application
has	O
stated	O
that	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
orders	O
it	O
looked	O
into	O
were	O
legitimate	O
orders	O
,	O
in	O
statements	O
in	O
summer	O
2020	O
and	O
March	O
2021	O
;	O
a	O
specific	O
brusher	O
or	O
set	O
of	O
brushers	O
responsible	O
for	O
the	O
seed	O
orders	O
were	O
never	O
identified	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
USDA	O
had	O
not	O
found	O
"	O
direct	O
evidence	O
of	O
brushing	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Atlantic	O
investigation	O
in	O
2021	O
found	O
that	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
people	O
reporting	O
unsolicited	O
seeds	O
had	O
seed	O
orders	O
in	O
their	O
Amazon	B-Application
ordering	O
history	O
they	O
had	O
forgotten	O
about	O
,	O
often	O
many	O
months	O
before	O
and	O
shipping	O
long-delayed	O
,	O
or	O
were	O
part	O
of	O
"	O
gift	O
groups	O
"	O
with	O
public	O
wish	O
lists	O
that	O
others	O
could	O
order	O
items	O
for	O
them	O
,	O
concluding	O
,	O
"	O
in	O
every	O
single	O
case	O
that	O
we	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
research	O
fully	O
,	O
we	O
found	O
a	O
convincing	O
connection	O
between	O
a	O
mystery	O
package	O
and	O
an	O
earlier	O
order.	O
"	O
</s>
