Amazon has become more than a household name; it has become the world’s largest retailer. Worldwide, Amazon has amassed a staggering one-hundred million Prime members as of late 2018. With all of those members spending lots of money with the retail giant also comes scammers that fool innocent shoppers. Criminals are hiding behind the trusted Amazon brand to steal information from consumers.
There are several scams associated with the Amazon name that have become popular over the last few years that are beyond annoying if you fall victim to them. Let’s start with one that may be the most annoying… You’re looking for the perfect product for dad for Fathers’ Day and after weeks of searching, you’ve found the perfect item on another website that claims to be a reputable Amazon seller and it’s on sale! You go ahead and purchase it just in time for the holiday. Unfortunately, the only form of payment that the seller is accepting are Amazon gift cards. But you say to yourself “that’s fine”, and you pay using that method. The thing is, Fathers’ Day is not as special because the gift you purchased dad hasn’t arrived. When you reach out to the seller, they are not to be found. Double whammy! Fathers’ Day was not as you planned because your gift never arrived, and you can’t get your money back.
Although this scam is very easy to fall for because it seems so legit, there is one thing that you can do to prevent yourself from falling victim to the illegitimate Amazon seller. If you find an item on a website other than Amazon that claims will link you to the appropriate Amazon store, stop! Instead, search for the item on the Amazon website through the Amazon seller’s name and product name. If you can’t find it, it’s not a real store! And on top of that, never pay for anything using an Amazon gift card unless it’s on Amazon. There are no retailers that are legally allowed to accept Amazon gift cards other than Amazon itself.
The next Amazon scam is like many scams going around these days… phishing. These ones are especially dangerous because the criminals hide behind the trusted brand to steal your information including your Social Security number, bank account information, and credit card details. Usually the scammer will contact you via email and claim to be from the Amazon Customer Service Department. The email will say something about the need to update your customer profile and a link will be provided. If you click the link, you are taken to a website that looks eerily similar to the real Amazon website. If you end up providing information you could have just provided the right stuff for a scammer to steal your identity. If you get an email like this, do NOT click on anything. Instead, go straight to the Amazon website and see if the request was real. If it was, you would have probably received a message on that platform, too.
It’s very unfortunate that scammers have decided to use the face of the trusted Amazon brand to do their bidding, but if you’re aware of what to look for, it’s much easier to not fall victim to these scams.
The bottom line is that there’s really no better time than the present to become a LibertyID member for identity theft restoration protection. LibertyID provides expert, full service, fully managed identity theft restoration to individuals, couples, extended families* and businesses. LibertyID has a 100% success rate in resolving all forms of identity fraud on behalf of our subscribers.
*Extended families – primary individual, their spouse/partner, both sets of parents (including those that have been deceased for up to a year), and all children under the age of 25