"If you need to contact Amazon customer support, we suggest going directly to the company website and going to the customer support link and following the prompts there," Gibbard said. Some consumers received fake text messages that supposedly were from Amazon.īut most of the consumers were concerned that they had reached a scammer after trying to reach Amazon Customer Support Service by Googling for a phone number.Īshley Gibbard, marketing manager at the Better Business Bureau office in Southfield, said consumers should never just Google for a customer service number - the scams are that prevalent. The Better Business Bureau serving eastern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula received about six complaints about Amazon-related scams in the past two months. More: DTE impersonators drained Rochester Hills woman's checking account using Zelle app More: 2 Michigan women tricked by convincing, sophisticated Amazon scam: What to know But if you call that number for help, you're calling the scammers, not Amazon. Nofziger said crooks have been known to list fake phone numbers and pretend to be from Amazon when posting on chat rooms, such as Reddit or the Ripoff Report. But con artists promote fake customer support numbers online for Amazon and other big names. If something's gone wrong with your Amazon delivery, you could be tempted to search online for a phone number for customer service. "And then another $100?" Don't call just any phone number "I should have known why do they need that first $50 thing?" "I should have known right then," he said. He could have lost another $550 in the same scam but got few breaks from the bank.Īnter said he'd warn other consumers to hang up when anyone claiming to be from Amazon asks for money for upgrades and claims the money will be somehow refunded. John Anter, who lives in Port Huron, lost about $400 in a scam that started out with someone impersonating an Amazon employee. Here's a rundown of Amazon scams: Watch out for Amazon TV scams Tips to protect yourself shopping online apply, too: Use a credit card for better protection, be careful to make sure you're not shopping on a fake website, and watch out for deals that look too good to be true, which can be a sign that you're dealing with a scammer. Amazon isn't collecting payments over the phone or by email - only via its app or website. Amazon is not going to ask you to download or install any software to connect with customer service. More advice: Amazon will not request that customers buy gift cards for any service. Simple tip: Don't buy gift cards or Bitcoin for strangers, allow access to your computer or device or hand over ID information to strangers, no matter how convincing the pitch. More: Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency warns jobless claimants of text phishing scam Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency, for example, warned Monday that crooks are sending text messages from a 210 area code, claiming that "your back payment deposit of $2,800 is now pending on your profile." The real agency doesn't contact people via text message. Scammers love to impersonate a brand that is well known and has credibility, including government agencies. She noted that the fraud network heard from 16 victims in just two days last week about Amazon-related scams of many different forms, including one that claimed $499 has been charged to a consumer's account for a purchase the person didn't make.Ī notice of a shockingly large purchase is just a ploy by scammers to get you to download apps like AnyDesk or TeamViewer to give the scammers access to your phone or personal computer as a way to steal data, access codes and even money. A lot of us during the pandemic had Amazon boxes being shipped every day," said Amy Nofziger, director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network. They use it for their TV with Amazon Prime. "Amazon is very popular and millions of households use it for a variety of things. In the first few days of July, Amazon-related phishing attacks increased by as much as 37% compared with the daily average in June, according to the cybersecurity firm Check Point Research's figures.
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