Amazon Phishing Scam: How to Identify

A Primer on Amazon Phishing Scams

Phishing scams on Amazon typically involve imposters posing as customer service reps in an effort to steal account credentials. Payment information, personal details, and account information could all fall under this category.

The phisher might potentially try to infect the victim’s machine with malware. If you aren’t on the lookout for them, Amazon email scams can be hard to spot. Some fraudsters employ highly realistic fake emails and websites that seem to be Amazon’s official customer support channels down to the last detail.

Others aren’t quite as careful, but they might use Amazon logos or other graphics from Amazon to make their emails look real.

But there are some red flags that indicate an email or website is fake. If you get suspicious-looking emails, you should report spam to Amazon immediately.

Why Are Sellers More Vulnerable?

There are more than 9.7 million merchants on Amazon, making it the largest online marketplace in the world. Sophisticated phishing scams posing as legitimate businesses have proliferated in recent years. These frauds target Amazon sellers in particular. They process a large number of orders every day and may not discover a few suspicious ones among all the real ones.

Con artists frequently forge Amazon-looking phishing emails in an effort to steal personal information like usernames, passwords, and payment details. Criminals can steal sensitive data, including consumer payment information, by breaking into a merchant’s account.

Such behavior can result in lost sales, damaged reputations, and potentially the suspension of one’s Amazon account. Ask for an Amazon spam report immediately.

The Famous Amazon Phishing Email

You may have fallen victim to fraud if you have received a suspicious email purporting to be from Amazon or if you have seen any unusual activity on your account. There are a lot of phishing scams out there that pretend to be well-known companies like Amazon. Frighteningly, the Federal Trade Commission found that 35 percent of complaints regarding company impersonators involve Amazon.com.

Amazon phishing emails should always be reported since they typically steal sensitive information that can be used in fraud. While phishing emails purporting to be from Amazon often look like official Amazon communications, a careful reader can spot telltale red flags indicating the email is not from Amazon. Some typical warning signs are:

• You are not specifically mentioned in the email.
• Although the email seems official and contains Amazon branding, the sender’s address does not have the “@amazon.com” extension.
• Your Amazon account credentials or credit card number may be requested in the email.
• There are several spelling and grammar mistakes in the email.
• The link in the email takes you to a website that looks nothing like Amazon.com.

If you receive an email that raises suspicions, delete it without opening any attachments or providing any personal information. Instead, please inform Amazon of any attempted phishing.

Things You Can Do to Protect Yourself from Phishing on Amazon

Now let’s have a look at some of the countermeasures you can take against phishing:

1. The best course of action, should you receive an email requesting that you make adjustments or validate information in your Seller Central account, is to head on over to Seller Central itself and see whether anything needs to be done.
2. Two-factor authentication is an option for Amazon account holders. Always use this method to log in instead of the simple, one-click login button for maximum security.
3. Verify all URLs and links sent in emails as often as possible.
4. The ‘Unsubscribe’ option is frequently included in phishing emails. If you confirm your email address by clicking the button, they will have more confidence in using advanced targeting techniques on you in the future.
5. These phishing emails often end up in the spam bin. If you frequently check your spam folder in case an essential message has been delivered there, you can be fooled into opening a phishing email. Avoid doing it, thank you very much.
6. Passwords for Seller Central should be as secure as possible and should be changed at least twice a year, if not more frequently. Don’t only use your name or the names of your parents or your date and place of birth. The recommended practice is to use a password generator, change your passwords frequently, and avoid using autofill or “remember me” features.
7. Having a permanently active VPN is another layer of defense for your Amazon Seller account. Protect yourself from Amazon phishing attacks by masking your IP address behind a virtual private network (VPN).
8. Aside from the technical aspects, you should only tell trustworthy persons your account password. If your account has many administrators, make sure they are reliable individuals who will keep your information secure.
9. If you get a text message from Amazon asking you to click a link or perform some other action, you can verify that it came from the company by doing a reverse phone number search.
10. Keep in mind that Amazon will never contact you through email or phone asking for sensitive information when determining the legitimacy of any such requests.

Reporting Phishing Attempts to Amazon

Amazon requests that you report any suspicious emails immediately. If you are a seller, you may have asked yourself, “How do I report phishing emails to Amazon?” The procedure is straightforward. Simply contact stop-spoofing@amazon.com with your request. Be sure to include the phishing email in the body of this message so that Amazon has all the information it needs to identify the origin of the attack.

If you were the victim of a phone-based phishing attack, please report phishing emails to Amazon by filling out the relevant form on their website.