T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART The Shadyside Police Department warns people of a “brushing scam” in which people receive packages from companies that contain a QR code for scammers to steal information once scanned.

SHADYSIDE — The Shadyside Police Department is warning local residents to be aware of an ongoing “brushing scam.”

The scam involves unordered packages arriving at homes. If the recipient scans a QR code the package contains, scammers will receive personal and financial information from their cell phone. The scam has been showing up in many states, according to the department’s Facebook post on the topic.

Assistant Police Chief Jeffrey Loeffler said the department is warning people because the ruse could creep into Belmont County.

A “brushing” scam is one that involves someone receiving an unexpected package. Examples of items involved include rings, bracelets, necklaces, electronics and Bluetooth speakers, officials said.

The address of the recipient will be on the package, but it will not include the sender’s information or be from a known retailer. Upon opening the package, the recipient will find a QR code to scan to find out who sent it, but officials warn against that.

Officials say the gift can be kept or thrown away but recipients should never scan the QR code for any reason.

Loeffler said because a lot of people have mobile banking apps, scammers will be able to capture all of that information and get to someone’s bank account if they scan the code.

No instances of this particular scam have been reported in Shadyside, but the department wants to warn people, especially after Christmas time when people might not be sure if they should be receiving a package.

“The idea of getting the word out for people to watch for is one more thing because there’s always something that somebody’s trying and this one seems like a pretty easy way to do something like that,” Loeffler said.

Anyone who receives a suspicious package in the mail can report it to the Shadyside Police Department or their local law enforcement agency.

Loeffler and his department is trying to prevent people from getting caught in the scam.