Amazon warning Prime members of new scams. Here's what to watch for
Online shopping giant Amazon is warning of a duo of new scams meant to trick customers into handing over personal and financial information.
Amazon Prime membership scam
One takes the form of a Prime membership scam, where the person will get an unexpected text or call about a “costly membership fee or an issue with your membership."
The person will be asked to confirm or cancel the charge by providing a payment or their bank account information to reinstate the membership.
“Amazon will never ask you to provide payment information for products or services over the phone,” Amazon said in a notice to its customers, sent out over the weekend.
Amazon Prime text scam
Another scam involves the scammer sending a text, phone call or email to the potential victim stating that their account will be suspended.
The victim will be prompted to click on a fraudulent link or verbally provide information over the phone, all the while being tricked into thinking they’re verifying their account with an actual customer service representative from Amazon.
Customers who land on these pages or receive these phone calls are then lured to provide their login information or payment details.
Amazon Prime password scam
“Amazon will never ask you to disclose your password or verify sensitive personal information over the phone or on any website other than Amazon.com,” the customer notice reads.
An Amazon spokesperson said in an email that both scams “were recently reported to Amazon by our U.S customers.”
The Better Business Bureau reported 202 Amazon Prime-related scams last year, and 186 Amazon-related scams that mention "account deletion, suspension, closure, or locking," according to spokesperson Melanie McGovern.
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How else to avoid scams
Amazon warns its customers to “trust Amazon-owned channels," like the mobile app or website, when seeking customer service or technical support, or when looking to make changes to your account.
Legitimate websites include URLs such as “amazon.com,” or “amazon.com/support," Amazon said.
“Scammers may try to create a sense of urgency to persuade you to do what they're asking,” Amazon added. “Be wary any time someone tries to convince you that you must act now.”
Amazon warns customers to never provide payment information over the phone for products or services, including via gift cards or as scammers call them, “verification cards.”
Between July 2020 and June 2021, 96,000 people reported being targeted by Amazon-related scams, and 6,000 people reported losing a combined $27 million to those kinds of scams, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Those over the age of 60 were particularly at risk over younger people, and were more likely to lose more money than younger people, the FTC said.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Amazon shopping scams: Avoid these Prime, password scams
