Tips to protect yourself from Amazon impersonation scams

This Black Friday week – during one of the busiest Christmas shopping periods, when scammers work harder than ever to catch us out – Amazon has released a warning about impersonation scams.

Scammers posing as various organisations like Amazon may call, text, or email you with various tactics to try to deceive you into providing personal information or sign-in credentials.

What to watch out for

Scammers may tell you there is a fraud investigation, and you must “verify” your account or claim there is an unauthorised or fraudulent activity on your Amazon account.

How to avoid being scammed

• Amazon will never ask you to share your password, account sign-in One-Time Password (OTP), or verify sensitive personal information over the phone.

• Visit the Message Centre on Amazon.co.uk or on our app to review authentic emails from Amazon.

• Go directly to the Amazon website, and go to ‘Your Account’ to make changes to your billing and account information.

• Customer Service is available 24/7 to help with any questions you may have.

How to keep safe

If you receive communication — a call, text, or email — that you think may not be from Amazon, please report it to them at amazon.co.uk/reportascam.

Ahead of Black Friday, Amazon UK is supporting the efforts of the Stop! Think Fraud campaign from the UK Government to help protect people from scams.  

As part of the campaign, they are advising that users take advantage of their 2-step verification (2SV), which gives your Amazon account an extra level of protection. This means that even if a criminal knows your password, they still won’t be able to access it. Why not consider setting up 2-step verification to your online accounts to help prevent unauthorised account access. You can set up an Amazon 2-step verification at amazon.co.uk/2SV.

For more information on how to stay safe online, visit Security & Privacy on the Amazon Customer Service page.

Remember, if you find a cyber scam that you think might pose a serious risk to you or others, you can report it to JCSC using their contact details. If you have been a victim of fraud, you should report it to the States of Jersey Police by calling 612612.