The holidays are coming up quickly, and with holiday shopping often come holiday scammers! The scammers see this frantic time of year as a huge opportunity to trick you into giving them your hard-earned money. We at PJ Networks have heard first-hand accounts of fake Amazon scams multiple times this year already. How do you know if you’re being scammed? What do you do when you think have been scammed?
In this scam, you may receive an email, text message, or phone call from someone pretending to be an Amazon customer service representative. They will usually tell you that there is a problem with your account security, payment information, or something similar. They will use urgent language to get you to act quickly before thinking it through. They may even seem pleasant or helpful, but they still want to steal your money. If you are ever contacted in this way by phone call or text message, DO NOT give them any personal information such as your name, birthday, social security number, banking or credit card information, etc. Even if they have some of your personal information, that does not mean they are who they say they are. Find the legitimate customer service phone number from the company’s official website, then call them and ask if there is a genuine issue. Here is a short response from Amazon regarding this scam:
“Amazon will never send you an unsolicited message that asks you to provide sensitive personal information like your Social Security number, tax ID, bank account number, credit card information, ID questions like your mother’s maiden name or your password,” the company said on its website. “Amazon will never ask you to make a payment outside of our website and will never ask you for remote access to your device.”
Source: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_left_v4_sib?ie=UTF8&nodeId=G4YFYCCNUSENA23B
If you receive this type of correspondence by email, DO NOT respond to the email. DO NOT call the number in the email. Again, go to the company’s website and call the customer service number found there. If you contacted Amazon, and they told you they were not trying to contact you, someone is trying to scam you. What now? The only action necessary to protect your money and information is to delete the email without responding.
For more information on this scam, see the following articles:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GRGRY7AQ3LMPXVCV
https://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article246392680.html
https://www.tmj4.com/call4action/beware-of-amazon-customer-support-scam
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G4YFYCCNUSENA23B
We here at PJ Networks hope you and your loved ones share a wholesome and safe Thanksgiving!
And remember, as always; Let’s be careful out there.
-The PJ Networks Team
