Behind the Prime Day there are increasingly sophisticated fraud. Last year, an increase of 80% of cheats related to false account problems was detected.
The countdown began: from 8 July, for four days, Amazon platforms in each country will be stormed during the week of the Prime Day, an event that attracts millions of buyers, but also thousands of scammers. As they float discounts and lightning offers, in fact they move more and more sophisticated behind the scenes.
Only in 2024, during the Prime days in the United States, Amazon detected an increase of 80% of cheating cheaps related to account problems: e-mail, sms or phone calls that pretend to arrive from customer assistance, asking to click on a link or to provide sensitive data, putting passwords, temporary codes, gift cards and bank credentials at risk. Amazon has already removed over 55,000 phishing sites and 12,000 fraudulent telephone numbersbut the scams continue to multiply, to the point that the company, to invite to maintain calm, has issued a press release with the guidelines to follow for a prime day without bad surprises.
The most common tricks. But which techniques do scammers use to enrich themselves? The most widespread is the so-called “impersonification”: trivially, pretending to be Amazon, using e-mails with official logos and tones, report an urgent problem. “We blocked your account” or “There is a suspicious order at the start“: that’s how the trap starts. Just one click to be redirected to fake sites that seem true But that they were built ad hoc to tap money to less equipped users to defend themselves.
A second version of the same scam can use a Registered phone call or a voice message that invites you to provide data to avoid suspension of the account. In recent months, however, there has been a change of course: according to Amazon, the most widespread trap no longer concerns access to accounts, but the Fasulle payment requestswhich now represent 38% of cases reported. The mechanism is simple: a false prime renewal notification comes or a fake receipt of a purchase never made, with the request to “block the payment” by clicking on a link. That’s right that the data theft.
False works. A further growing scam is that of job offers, that is, messages that offer paid jobs in Amazon at too attractive conditions to be true. Generally, after a first electronic conversation, the false recruiter asks to register on a suspicious site or Pour money in advance with gift card or cryptocurrencies and to provide reserved personal data.
Especially on this point, Amazon is clear: the company never requires payments to apply, nor contacts through unofficial channels. The real job offers are found only on the site Amazon.jobs. Finally, some messages also invite you to download unauthorized apps or access to portals with names similar to Amazon, but with small mistakes in the link: a social engineering makeup that uses distraction and that can, in some cases, cost hundreds of euros before noticing the trap.
Three countermeasures. To avoid falling into the net, Amazon recommends Three simple moves. First: check a suspicious message by accessing the “messages center” of your account, the only official channel, in order to check if a copy of the same is also present there.
Second: check the sender’s e-mail: the legitimate ones always end with “@Amazon.com“.
Third: do not click on links, nor provide password, codes or payment data via phone or e-mail. Better access directly to the app or the official website. For greater safety, you can activate two-factor authentication (by providing your mobile number in addition to the e-mail) and receive notifications every time the account is used.
How to defend yourself. Shipping management can also help: If you choose only products sold by Amazon, the risks are reducedalthough in this way, you end up damaging millions of honest private advertisers on the platform. Therefore it is good first of all Check the seller’s feedback and reviews of other users on the object.
The most precious advice, however, remains another: If the offer seems too beautiful to be true (with timer immediately expiring and too advantageous prices compared to those requested for the same object by other sellers), stop! It is probably a scam.
