If you think today is your lucky day because you received a free flash drive / thumb drive in the mail, think again!

The FBI has warned that cybercrime rings are posing as Amazon and mailing out “free” flash drives to unsuspecting victims, in hopes that they will insert it into their computer.

Upon insertion, these flash drives will infect and hijack your computer.

As of 1-11-22, the FBI believes these are all being sent through USPS and UPS. Most of the time the package will look like it is from Amazon, however there have also been packages located that appear to contain information relating to Covid or Covid Testing in addition to some that claim to be Thank You Notes or gifts from family members. Recently fake parcels have been discovered that show a logo of a popular company, so the recipient thinks it is a gift from a big brand company... and it looks pretty legit!!:

Agan, all of these contain malware or ransomware and should NEVER be used.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU RECEIVED A MYSTERY FLASH DRIVE

Flash drives and postage to mail them is not cheap. A company is going to spend at least $5 between the cost of the drive and postage to mail it to you, so it is not beneficial for them to send them out when they could instead simply send an email for free.

NOBODY SENDS A GIFT CARD ON A FLASH DRIVE.  Literally, nobody...ever. 

1. If you purchased an item through that business, it is possible that they may include a promotional thumb drive in with your order. The promotional drive will have the company's logo on it and it will be in with your purchase, it will never be sent separately.

2. If you do receive a flash drive from a company, even if their logo is on it, CONTACT THEM. Ask if they sent you a thumb drive. Most likely they did not.

3. The government / CDC does not mail people files on drives.

4. If you believe the drive is from a family member or friend, ASK THEM.

5. If you believe the drive is from Amazon, CONTACT THEM.

6. If you cannot figure out who sent you the drive, the best thing to do is destroy it and discard it. Be sure to destroy it so someone cannot use it in the future. Here’s 4 ways to destroy a flash drive in under 30 seconds.