The online retail giant has issued advice on what to do if you get one
Amazon shoppers have been warned to watch for a scam which experts say is particularly convincing. Consumer advocates have warned that scammers are using the ploy to gain access to people’s accounts.
Product test site Which? has sounded the alarm over a scam where fraudsters give customers a call, often using spoofed numbers, posing as Amazon representatives. They inform you there has been suspicious activity on your account. The scammers then claim that Amazon will send you a text with a passcode to share with them.
The scam is particularly deceptive as you do receive a genuine passcode text from Amazon, but it’s triggered by the fraudster attempting to log into your account. Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert at Which?, said: “Criminals will use passcode scams to target any Amazon user whose details have been obtained by hackers, possibly from a data breach or a previous scam attempt.
“Fraudsters use your phone number to attempt to log in to your Amazon account, triggering genuine one-time passcode messages from Amazon to throw people off the scent.” She warned that falling victim to the scam is surprisingly easy.
Ms Webb said: “Anyone can be caught off guard at the wrong moment, especially if they’re under stress or distracted.” The legal expert urged people to take action if they think they have been targeted.
She said: “If you think your account has been compromised, the first thing you should do is log in to Amazon and change your password via its official website or app – it’s a good idea to then activate multi-factor authentication if you haven’t already. Consumers should bear in mind that passcode scams are not unique to Amazon: scammers also used a variation of these tactics to target O2 customers.”
Once fraudsters gain access to your account, they can obtain your personal details and redeem any gift cards or credit you hold with the company. For those with seller profiles, criminals could create fraudulent listings or tamper with reviews, potentially damaging your reputation. Your account could even be suspended as a result.
The stolen data can also be exploited by the fraudsters to carry out other scams. In a statement shared by Which?, Amazon said: “Scammers that attempt to impersonate Amazon put consumers at risk and we will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance.
“We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe. We may ask you to verify your identity if you call customer service for support, but Amazon will never contact you first to ask you for your password, verification passcodes or security question.”
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