Trading Standards - Amazon Scams

29th August 2024

39% of respondents to the scam survey had experienced a scam related to Amazon in the last year.

Some of the most common scam calls, texts, and emails refer to an unauthorised order and ask you to act urgently to confirm or cancel the purchase by providing personal or payment information.

Others say there has been unauthorised activity on your account and that it will be suspended or locked. They try to convince you to provide personal or payment information or sign-in credentials.

One woman was cold called by someone who said they were from Amazon and that a purchase in excess of £1,000 had been made from her account. The caller asked her to download an app which would allow him to access her computer remotely, supposedly so that he could fix the problem.

She agreed and was then told to access her bank account online. At this point, she became suspicious and ended the call. She has since changed her Amazon account details.

How to Avoid
Amazon advise that if you receive a suspicious call, email or text claiming to be from them which asks for personal information, a payment, or offers a refund you don't expect, you should not give out any personal information.

If a message or cold caller tells you that a suspicious payment has been made, log in to your account on the official website or app to check this rather than providing any details over the phone.

Amazon will never cold call you to ask you to make a payment. They will never call and ask you to install an app or download software which will allow them to access to your computer remotely.

If you are not sure if a text message or email that appears to be from Amazon is legitimate, you can check the Message Centre via your account, which displays a log of authentic communications.

Never follow instructions from an unsolicited caller to download an app or software which would allow them to access your computer remotely.

Contact your bank immediately if you think you may have made a payment to a scammer or if you are worried that a fraudulent transaction has been made from your account.

Find out more
Advice from Amazon on recognising genuine communications from them: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer
ScamShare Spotlight PDF on Amazon scams: www.tsscot.co.uk/spotlight-amazon