Amazon, the world’s leading e-commerce platform, recently sent an email to its global customers to warn them about a surge in sophisticated scams linked to customer accounts and Prime memberships. With over 200 million people around the world with Amazon Prime memberships it is clear how much awareness there is about the service. However, this widespread popularity has also made Amazon Prime a target for scammers. Scams related to Amazon Prime memberships include fake emails or phone calls claiming to be from Amazon customer service, phishing sites that try to steal login credentials, or fraudulent charges. Here is more about these pervasive scams and some essential knowledge and tools to help protect yourself against cybercriminals.
Prime Membership Scams
Prime membership scams are insidiously clever. These unexpected phone calls, text messages, or emails, are often urgent notifications about an unpaid membership fee or a glitch in your Prime membership. The scammers contact you with a tone of concern and urgency, asking you to either confirm or cancel the charge. In the process, they will ask you about your payment or bank account details in order to reactivate or cancel your membership.
Remember that Amazon, as a policy, will never ask you for payment information for products or services over the phone. To determine the authenticity of Amazon emails, visit the Message Center on Amazon.com or on their app. To check your Prime Membership status or make payments, do not click on links – log into your Amazon account the way you normally do and navigate to ‘Your Account.’
Account Suspension/Deletion Scams
Equally dangerous are Amazon account suspension or deletion scams. To get your information scammers reach out via texts, emails, or phone calls, warning that your account is going to be, or already has been suspended or deleted. They then coax you to tap on a deceptive link or call a phone number in order to get you to share personal information to “verify your account.” Customers who follow these instructions are tricked into giving them crucial account details, such as payment information or account logins.
Once again, it is important to remember that Amazon will never request your password or validate sensitive personal data over the phone or on any platform other than Amazon.com or in their app. Do not click on any links in an email or supply your information to anyone over the phone without verifying the legitimacy of the email or phone call. If you have concerns about your account’s status, visit Amazon.com or their app directly to view your account details, including the Message Center, which maintains a record of communications directly from Amazon.
Tips to Detect Scams and Safeguard Your Amazon Account and Information
In the face of this rising wave of scams, here are some crucial tips to help you identify these scams and secure your account and personal data:
- Have faith in Amazon-owned channels: Always access customer service, tech support, or account modifications through the Amazon mobile app or website.
- Be skeptical of artificial urgency: Scammers often create a false sense of urgency to manipulate you into complying with their demands. Always be cautious when someone insists that you must act immediately to avoid or cancel an unsuspecting credit card charge or cancellation.
- Never make payments over the phone: Amazon will never ask for payment information, including gift cards (or “verification cards,” as scammers may call them) for products or services over the phone. Unfortunately, phishing scams are getting harder to spot and you cannot trust a phone number in an email. Unless you call Amazon support using a phone number from Amazon.com, you cannot be sure who is on the other end of the line.
- Verify links before clicking on them: Authentic Amazon websites contain “amazon.com” or “amazon.com/support.” Always go directly to their website when seeking assistance with Amazon devices/services, orders, or account modifications. Phishing emails may slightly change the domain name to something like “anazon.com” to trick you into thinking it’s a legitimate web address.
You can visit the Amazon Customer Service page in order to learn more about how to avoid these Amazon related scams. Should you receive a call, text, or email you suspect may not be from Amazon, report it at amazon.com/reportascam.