A new Amazon scam appears to be making the rounds. It involves bad actors who attempt to siphon personal information out of consumers by telling them that they need to confirm a recent purchase.
Amazon customers across the country have reported receiving calls from people who claim to work for Amazon and are asking for confirmation of a recent transaction. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning that this is a scam.
Stephanie of Falls Church, Va. warned that she recently received “a very realistic-sounding call” asking for confirmation of a $1499 purchase made to her Amazon account.
“They then tried to ask me for my name ‘to verify my account,’” she told ConsumerAffairs. “I told the caller I was not comfortable giving him my name and he offered an 800 number for me to call to speak to them directly.”
Instead of calling the 800 number, she opted to call Amazon directly after hanging up. Legitimate Amazon representatives then confirmed that the call she received was a scam. They reiterated that Amazon emails account holders personally -- using the customers’ name -- if there is an issue with their account.
“Amazon confirmed that they never call people. They only contact you via email,” Stephanie said. “Another observation: when you call Amazon, you do not hear the call center in the background. I could hear a call center in the background from the unsolicited caller.”
Automated messages
If the same version of this scam call goes to voicemail, Amazon account holders may hear a message like this: "This call is regarding your purchase from Amazon.com. You made a transaction for $529 and 99 cents."
"That order seemed to be fraudulent,” the scam call says. “Press 1 to speak with an Amazon fraud department executive.”
If the consumer falls for the ploy and connects with the scammers, an “agent” may ask for a credit card number associated with their account. The FTC says consumers should be aware that this is a scam designed to dupe users into giving out valuable personal information.
If you aren’t sure whether you’re dealing with a scammer, the FTC says you can ask the caller to read off your Amazon account number. Chances are they’ll have no idea.