By Amazon customers targeted in new scam
Action Fraud has issued a warning to Amazon customers over a new scam which is tricking people into giving out their personal details.
Over 2,000 reports of the scam were submitted within a week.
Emails have been sent out to customers stating that they have been “locked out” of their accounts and need to complete an “identity verification” in order to unlock it.
The links take the user to genuine looking websites, luring them into a false sense of security before stealing personal and financial information.
The warning said: “Action Fraud has received over 2,000 reports in one week about fake emails purporting to be from Amazon.
“The emails claim the recipient’s Amazon account has been “locked” and that they need to complete an “identity verification” process in order to unlock it.
“The links in the emails lead to genuine-looking phishing websites that are designed to steal Amazon login credentials, as well as personal and financial information.
“Your bank, or any other official organisation, won’t ask you to share personal information over email or text.
“If you need to check that it’s a geniune message, contact them directly. Spotted a suspicious email? Forward it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) – report@phishing.gov.uk.”
Amazon has issued the following advice to customers on their website to help protect them against email scams.
Spoof or phishing emails are fraudulent emails attempting to get your personal information.
They are generally made to look like they are coming from Amazon. If you receive an email claiming to be from Amazon, and you suspect it is a spoof or phishing email, here are some things you can look out for:
- Amazon will never ask for personal information to be supplied by email.
- Amazon will never request to update payment information that is not linked to an Amazon order you placed or an Amazon service you subscribed to.
Amazon has also advised its customers to check the sender address and domain by clicking the ender name in the field “from”.
Amazon emails will always come from an address that ends @amazon.co.uk (e.g. shipment-tracking@amazon.co.uk, auto-confirm@amazon.co.uk, no-reply@amazon.co.uk).
