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Avoiding Amazon Scams

Many of us use Amazon, myself included; I have been a member for at least ten years. Within the past several months, my husband and I noticed strange emails about an attempted purchase on our account. Recently, I have had a few clients contact me because hackers had taken advantage of them using their Amazon account. It is a nightmare to clean up and fix your bank accounts once you have given away personal information.

I want to provide a few resources and tips to keep you "in the know" and avoid phishing scams and fraudulent traps, specifically via Amazon!

If you get an email, text, or call, don’t panic and don’t click on anything. First go to Amazon’s website directly or to the app on your mobile device and check the “Your Orders” tab in your account. There is nothing to worry about if your orders are legitimate, and that was the first step I took when I received a suspicious email. I knew if nothing under the “My Orders” tab had changed, then there was no unauthorized purchase made on my account, and I ignored the scam email.

Pay attention to where the email is coming from; legitimate emails are http://“something”.amazon.com. For example, Amazon Pay website is https://pay.amazon.com/


Don’t panic if you get an order confirmation in your email of something you didn’t purchase.

  • Go directly to Amazon’s website or the mobile app and log in.

  • Click on the “Your Orders” tab. If the purchase is not listed, ignore the confirmation email/text.

  • If you receive an email/text request to update your payment, don’t click on any links in the email. It is best to go to the “Your Orders” tab and see if it prompts you to update your payment. If it does not the message you received is not from Amazon.

  • Don’t download attachments or prompts to install software on your device.

  • Watch for typos and grammatical errors.


Here are some things Amazon NEVER does and should be a red flag:

  • Rarely does Amazon make outbound phone calls to its customers; only a few departments do this.

  • They will NEVER ask you to disclose or verify sensitive personal information or offer you a refund you do not expect.

  • They also do not text links with shipping information or that you’ve won a gift card.

  • Amazon also does not need to gain remote access to your computer to install software. They NEVER request this from customers.


The bottom line is if you get a phone call, email or text, don’t click on any links or respond. Do not use the links in texts or emails to log in. Go directly to Amazon’s website or via the mobile app to log in. Check under the “Your Orders” tab and review what’s been purchased. Remember, acting too quickly in response to possible fraudulent activity can be more frustrating than just taking your time and reviewing your account. There are many instructions and resources on Amazon’s website to help with security. Here are a couple of links I thought were helpful.


Identifying Whether an Email, Phone Call, Text Message or Webpage is from Amazon:

How to Protect Your System:

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