EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Organizations often have Amazon Business accounts to purchase bulk items. The benefits are great (the stuff, the custom reports), but hackers are trying to turn these customers into scam victims.
“This is Amazon calling”, says the voice over the phone. If you get a call like this, it’s a scam.
Here are top Amazon related scams to watch out for this season:
- The Amazon Alexa scam. Organizations are buying Amazon Alexa assistants for executives and others who may find them of use. If someone in your organization needs assistance with set-up, inform them that Amazon offers fee-free customer service that can provide instructions. Any customer service individual or company that charges a fee for Amazon Alexa support is fake.
- The Amazon subscription scam. In these scams, Amazon account holders receive phone calls from cyber criminals, who assert that account credentials have been compromised. To fix the issue, you will supposedly need to install a Team Viewer app on your computer. As soon as the Team Viewer app is installed, the cyber criminal can see your computer data, and potentially weaponize it to steal money from your organization (or from you personally).
- The Amazon Affiliate scam. Amazon.com does have an affiliate program, which makes this scam particularly dangerous for individuals who are seeking side entrepreneurial opportunities. In this scam, a cyber criminal claims to be a local area representative for the company, and then offers for individuals to get started as an affiliate. The cyber criminal then discusses fees and how individuals can pay. Does your organization employ part-timers who might want some extra dough? Tell them to steer clear of these lures.
- A fake Amazon order confirmation scam. If your organization receives an email confirming an order that no one remembers placing, look into it. You may have received a fake email. The hacker behind the email may then ask for your account details in order to compromise your organization’s credit cards.
- A classic Amazon email phishing scam. If you receive an email saying that your order cannot be shipped, or that you were accidentally charged twice for your order, the email is liable to be fake. Delete these types of emails, and then review your personal order history to ensure that there aren’t any issues. If there are any authentic issues, you can always call Amazon’s customer support directly.
If you believe that you’ve encountered an Amazon scam, the company does offer information on how to report suspicious emails, websites, phone calls, or text messages. Go to their help and customer service site to learn more.
For more information on Amazon.com related scams, visit USA Today.
