Amazon issues urgent scam warning to customers after surge in incidents - signs of a scam to look out for

Online retail giant Amazon has issued an urgent scam warning to customers as fraudsters try to con shoppers out of cash. Amazon is alerting customers to scams involving phone calls, texts and emails.

The first scam, dubbed ‘Prime membership scams’ involves unexpected calls/texts/emails that refer to an issue with your membership, or a costly membership fee, with scammers asking you to confirm or cancel the charge. The scammers will then try and convince you to provide payment or bank account information in order to reinstate a membership.

In a warning sent to customers, Amazon said: “In its warning, Amazon told customers: “Amazon will never ask you to provide payment information for products or services over the phone. Visit the Message Centre on Amazon.co.uk or on our app to review authentic emails from Amazon.

“To verify your Prime Membership status or make payments, log into your Amazon account, and go to Your Account.”

The second scam has been described as ‘Account suspension/deletion scams’. It involves texts, emails and phone calls where the Amazon user is told their account will be suspended or deleted. Customers are then asked to click on a fraudulent link or verbally asked to provide information to ‘verify your account’.

Amazon states: “Amazon will never ask you to disclose your password or verify sensitive personal information over the phone or on any website other than Amazon.co.uk.

‘Please do not click on any links or provide your information to anyone over the phone without authenticating the email or phone call.

“If you have questions about the status of your account, go directly to Amazon.co.uk or on our app to view your account details, including the Message Center which displays a log of communications sent from Amazon.”

Amazon: Tips to identify a scam 

Amazon has offered four useful tips on ways to identify scams and keep your account and information safe.

Trust Amazon-owned channels

Always go through the Amazon mobile app or website when seeking customer service, tech support, or when looking to make changes to your accounts.

Be wary of false urgency

Scammers may try to create a sense of urgency to persuade you to do what they’re asking. Be wary any time someone tries to convince you that you must act now.

Never pay over the phone

Amazon will never ask you to provide payment information, including gift cards (or ‘verification cards,’ as some scammers call them) for products or services over the phone.

Verify links first

Legitimate Amazon websites contain ‘amazon.co.uk’ or ‘amazon.co.uk/support’. Go directly to Amazon’s website when seeking help with Amazon devices, services, orders or to make changes to your account.