Amazon tells customers of holiday shopping scam
Consumers targeted by impersonation scams
By: Saleen Martin
USA Today
..... While working to school customers on potential scams during the holiday shopping season, Amazon is especially urging shoppers to be vigilant of impersonation scams, in which scammers pretend to be representatives of the Online retail giant and steal personal information or money.
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The company confirmed to USA Today on November 28 [2025] that Amazon has been sending customers messages about avoiding such scams.
..... When asked about the notices, Amazon clarified the message are not warnings or alerts as other outlets have reported, but :educational efforts" to protect customers.
..... The company first started sending out the messaging in early November [2025] to U.S. customers, and customers in the United Kingdom last week. [11/27/2025]
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Amazon is estimated to have over 310 million active users worldwide, per AMZScout, which uses Chrome and other apps to conduct product research.
..... In October 2021, the Federal Trade Commission reported that 1 in 3 customers claimed someone had contacted them claiming to be Amazon representatives.
..... Some people reported that the scammers begged them for help and said Amazon would fire them if they didn't help them.
..... Among businesses scammers reportedly impersonated, Amazon was the top at 35%, followed by Apple at 6%. "About 96,000 people reported being targeted,and nearly 6,000 said they lost money," the FTC wrote in the report.
..... Christy Vargas of Amazon's public relations team said on November 28 [2025] that scammers put amazon consumers at risk. "We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance," Vargas said in an email.
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Impersonation scams occur when scammers pretend to be trustworthy organization or people, with the goal being to steal money or personal information. Scammers typically carry these out by calling, emailing, texting and messaging victims on social media, Amazon said on its website.
..... According to Amazon, some characteristics of impersonation scams include:
* False urgency: Scammers try to crate a sense of urgency to get customers to do what they want.
* Asking for personal information: Scammers may try to get information such as address, payment information, account login credentials or financial information.
* Purchases outside of Amazon: Scammers often ask victims to send them money outside of the Amazon website or mobile app through a third-party site or wire transfer.
* Payment via gift cards: Scammers may ask victims to buy gift cards and pay with those, or ask for gift card numbers, claim codes or PINs.
* Unexpected orders: Victims may get notifications of orders or deliveries they did not expect. If customers receive notice of orders they didn't place, they should go to the official Amazon website or app and check their order history.
..... Amazon customers can find information identifying scams and reporting them in the "customer service" section of the website.
..... Those without Amazon accounts can report suspicious messages by emailing an attachment of the messages to reprotascam@amazon.com.