Amazon warns of new Online shopping scams

By: Daniel Munoz
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Online shopping giant Amazon is warning of a duo of new scams meant to trick customers into handing over personal and financial information.
..... One takes the from of a Prime membership scam, in which the person will get an unexpected text or call about a 'costly membership fee or an issue with your membership."
..... The person will be asked to confirm or cancel the charge by providing a payment or their bank account information to reinstate the membership.
..... "Amazon will never ask you to provide payment information for products or services over the phone," Amazon said in a notice to its customers.
..... Another scam involves the scammer sending a text, phone call or email to the potential victim saying their account will be suspended.
..... The victim will be prompted to click on a fraudulent link or verbally provide information over the phone, being tricked into thinking they're verifying their account with an actual customer service representative from Amazon.
..... Customers who land on these pages or receive these phone calls are then lured to provide their login information or payment details.
..... "Amazon will never ask you to disclose your password or verify sensitive personal information over the phone or on any website other than Amazon.com ," the customer notice read.
..... An Amazon spokesperson said in an email that both scams "were recently reported to Amazon by our U.S. customers."
..... The Better Business Bureau reported 202 Amazon Prime-related scams last year [2022] and 186 Amazon-related scams that mention "account deletion, suspension, closure, or locking," according to spokesperson Melanie McGovern.
.....Amazon warns its customers to "truest Amazon-owned channels," like the mobile app or website, when seeking customer service or technical support, or when onlooking to make changes to an account.
..... Legitimate websites include URLs such as " Amazon.com " or " amazon.com/support" Amazon said.
..... Scammers may try to create a sense of urgency to persuade you to do what they're asking," Amazon added. "Be wary any time someone tries to convince you that you must act now."
..... Amazon warns customers never to provide payment information over the phone for products or services, including vie gift cards or, as scammers call them "revivification cards."
..... Between July2020 and June 2021, 96,000 people reported being targeted by Amazon-related scams, and 6,000 people reported losing a combined 427 million to those kinds of scams, according to the Federal trade Commission
..... Those over the age of 60 were particularly at risk and were more likely to lose more money than younger people, the FTC said.

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