Amazon Prime Day Scams: Six Common Tricks and How to Stay Safe Shopping Online
From phishing emails to fake reviews, learn how to avoid becoming a victim during Prime days!
Whether you’re looking to get a head start on holiday shopping or simply love a great bargain, then you probably can’t wait for Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days. The 48-hour online shopping events kick off on October 8 and offer millions of exclusive deals to Prime members. This sales event is appealing to more than just customers, however; Scammers around the globe often use these savings events as the perfect opportunity to target shoppers. To keep yourself protected, read more about six common Amazon scams you may encounter around this time and how to keep your data safe.
Prime membership phishing scam
With the sale quickly approaching, it’s the ideal time for scammers to take advantage of those who rely on their Prime memberships to score great deals. This has been popping up in the form of a phishing scam.
WNEM-TV 5 shared that the Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan is warning citizens about a scam email regarding memberships. The message appears to be from Amazon Prime, telling the user that “the credit card associated with their membership is not valid and needs to be renewed.”
In order to fix the issue, the person is told they need to click on the “Update Payment Information” link in the body of the email. Once they fill out this information, the scammers steal it. (Click through to read more about another email scam entering inboxes).
Amazon rep phone call scam
Sometimes, scammers prefer to try and target victims over the phone. In a recent Reddit thread, a user shared that they received a call from an unknown number who claimed to be a representative from Amazon when they answered the phone.
Though that particular conversation ended abruptly, similar scams in the past have taken place. A Reddit user once described how a call from a number claiming to be Amazon said there was a fraudulent charge on the person’s Amazon credit card.
In many cases, the fake company rep will ask to be granted access to the target’s computer or account in order to reverse the charge. This then gives the scammer direct access to the victim’s financial accounts.
Fake Amazon website scam
Similar to a phishing scam, scammers may create fake, elaborate websites that appear to be Amazon. They’re often indistinguishable at first glance and the domains can sound official enough. As PC World shares, examples have included “amazon-onboarding,” “shopamazon,” “amazon-billing,” or “connect-amazon.”
This has become such a problem that there were over a thousand new Amazon-related domains reportedly created in June 2024 alone, reports Sectank. To make matters worse, 85% of those websites were found to be either suspicious or malicious.
These fake websites often include attractive deals to lure potential customers. Then once you add the item to your cart and enter your personal and financial information to check out, the scammers steal it.
Third-party seller scams
Since Amazon allows third-party sellers to list and sell products, this makes it easy for unsavory characters to take advantage of customers. There are a number of ways they can make illegal profits, shares Nord Pass.
This can include fake reviews that mislead customers so they are tricked into buying an item that wasn’t what was advertised. Others may employ bait and switch tactics (like advertising a popular product at a low price, then redirecting people to a more expensive item when they’re “out of stock”) or simply never sending out the product after they take your money. (Receive an item you didn’t order? Find out why this scam happens).
Another potential risk with third-party sellers is counterfeit items. Though they advertise authentic merchandise ranging from electronics to cosmetics, what you actually receive is a low-quality replica. This allows the scammers to pocket your money at little to no cost to them.
Fake delivery scam
If you make any purchases during the Prime deal days, you may not think twice when you receive a text regarding a delivery. Often this will include some sort of status update or a notification that there’s an issue delivering your ordered item.
However, this fake text will not be about an actual order of yours—it’s simply a coincidence. But clicking on the provided link to deal with the alleged delivery could lead to either malware being downloaded onto your device or personal information stolen if they ask you to fill out a form.
Amazon refund scam
Another issue to watch out for once you’ve made your Amazon purchases—particularly if there’s an item you decide you no longer want—is a refund scam. In this case, the scammer is hoping that anyone who recently returned an item to Amazon will fall for their trap.
In a Reddit thread, a user posted a screenshot of the text message she received. It reads: “[AMAZON] Your refund request has been denied. Please check your account for more details.” The text also includes a link, similar to one you would find in an email phishing scam.
Since the link will take you to a fake website, the alleged refund issue will never be resolved, as scammers are only looking to steal information.
How to stay safe when shopping during Amazon Prime Days
Planning to shop during Prime Days? Here’s how you can protect yourself from Amazon Prime Day scams and avoid becoming a victim:
- Avoid clicking on links in emails and text messages. If there is a reported concern about your account, log in using the official Amazon website or app.
- Do not provide personal or financial information over the phone to someone claiming to be with Amazon. Call customer service directly or utilize their chat feature for any issues with your account.
- Only trust information about refunds that are received through the official Amazon website.
- Take a closer look at who is selling an item. Unless it says “Ships from Amazon.com” or “Sold by Amazon,” it is being sold by a third party. Practice due diligence by reading seller and product reviews.
- Use websites like Fake Spot and Review Meta when trying to authenticate whether a review is from a legitimate customer. These sites can scan any product page on Amazon to detect fake reviews.
- Try and stay on top of expected deliveries for your purchases. This will make you less likely to fall for the “fake delivery” scam because you’ll know the updates of your actual items.
- Consider setting up dual factor authentication for your Amazon account. This way if you are tricked into providing your log-in details to a scammer, they still won’t be able to access it.
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