If you want to buy almost anything online, Amazon’s the place to be. It’s the world’s No. 1 online marketplace, processing millions of orders daily. Unfortunately, its popularity also makes it a hotbed for scam activity. Amazon fake order alerts are the most prevalent Amazon-related scams.
This guide explores how Amazon fake order alert scams work and what to watch for.
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How Do Amazon Fake Order Alerts Scams Work
The Amazon fake order alerts scam is surprisingly simple. The scammers create fake emails that look like they’re coming from Amazon itself and send them out to unsuspecting users.
The fake emails might take the form of “Order Confirmation” messages for products the user never actually ordered, or alerts that something is wrong with the user’s account and they need to login and fix it.
Typically, the emails will contain a link, which seems like it should go to the official Amazon website. In reality, the link takes the user to a fake or “phishing” site where all the info they enter can be stolen and exploited.
Here’s an example of how it works:
- The user receives a message about an expensive item they didn’t actually order.
- The email informs the user that they can cancel the order and get a full refund.
- To do this, the user is asked to click a link and confirm their payment info.
- In reality, they’ll be giving their payment details to the scammers.
The reason why these scams tend to work so well is because Amazon is such a go-to site for so many people. Since many folks receive numerous emails from Amazon each week, it’s easy for the scam ones to sneak in unnoticed. They’re also cleverly designed to resemble real Amazon emails and even come from spoof email accounts that appear genuine at first glance.
Red Flags You Shouldn’t Ignore
Emails About Items You Haven’t Ordered
Many Amazon fake order alert messages concern items you simply haven’t ordered. Unless someone has hacked into your account and started buying things, you shouldn’t receive any message about items you have no memory of purchasing.
Demands for Personal Information
Like most credible companies, Amazon promises that it’ll never ask for personal information from you via email. So, if an email seems to come from Amazon asking for your credit card details or other info, it’s almost certainly not genuine.
Errors in the Message Content
Scammers sometimes rush through their emails or don’t necessarily have English as a first language. This means that they might make mistakes with spelling or grammar. If the content of the email has any typos or sentences that seem strange or off, it’s probably not from the real Amazon.
Links
It’s a big red flag if you see a link inside the Amazon email inviting you to click and submit your payment info or update your personal details. Always avoid clicking these links – just open the official Amazon site in a new tab or window instead to avoid ending up on a fake site.
How to Stay Safe from Amazon Fake Order Scams
- Don’t click on any links in emails that seem to be from Amazon.
- Check your order history on the official Amazon website if you’re unsure about anything.
Report the Scam
If you receive a scam Amazon message, you can report it direct to Amazon. Simply forward the email to the [email protected] address. You can also:
- Report to the FTC.
- Report to the FBI Internet Complaints Center.
How to Protect Yourself More
Sign up to our scam alerts and learn about new scams and online threats right away.
Subscribers also receive regular emails from Scam Detector, explaining common scams and providing useful insights to stay safe.
Read up on other Amazon scams so you know what to watch out for and how to stay safe whenever you shop on the world’s favorite digital marketplace.
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When my sweet old grandmother got caught up in an Amazon gift card scam, I decided then and there that I needed to do whatever I could to inform as many people as possible about the grifters of the world. That’s what I do here – writing about modern scams so you don’t get caught out.
I just had a call that was this type of scam.
Had I ordered an expensive tech product?
No.
We thought you hadn’t that’s why we are checking. The mail to address was another state.
I finally asked where he was located.
Washington DC, Pennsylvania.
Lol. He did manage to get my birthdate so I didn’t catch on as quickly as I might have. But when he told me he was transferring me to the FTC, I realized this was bogus. They are slippery.
Informazioni molto utili. Grazie
Thanks for the article!