Amazon gives advice on how to recognise rip-offs from scammers

DON’T find yourself up the creek without a paddle by falling into the trap of phony Amazon scams.

The online e-commerce and digital streaming multinational recently alerted to the dangers of being fooled by unexpected calls, texts or emails referring to a costly membership fee or other membership issue.

These will ask you to confirm or cancel the charge, Amazon warned.

“Scammers will try to convince you to provide payment or bank account information in order to reinstate a membership,” the company said.

Amazon will never ask you to provide payment information for products or services over the phone, a recent statement stressed. Never pay over the phone, it added.

“Visit the Message Centre on the Amazon website or on our app to review authentic emails from Amazon. To verify your Prime Membership status or make payments, log into your Amazon account, and go to the Your Account section.”

The company gave details of the account suspension or deletion sting, where scammers send texts, emails and phone calls stating that your account will be suspended or deleted.

You are then prompted to click on a fraudulent link or provide verbal information “verifying your account.”

Customers who find themselves on these pages or receive these phone calls are subsequently lured into providing details that include payment information or account login credentials.

“If you have questions about the status of your account, go directly to the Amazon website or our app to view your account details, including the Message Centre which displays a log of communications sent from Amazon,” the company advised.

Amazon recommended always going through the Amazon mobile app or website when seeking customer service, tech support, or making changes to your account.

“Be wary whenever someone tries to convince you that you must act now,” the company said.

“Go directly to our website when seeking help with Amazon devices, services or orders.

“If you receive communications — a call, text or email — that you think may not be from Amazon, please report it to us,” the company said.

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