Anyone with an Amazon account has been issued a warning over bogus text messages claiming to be from the online retailer. A consumer watchdog has issued the warning.
The fake messages sent by scammers encourage recipients to follow a link to secure their account following what has been an "attempted log in"
But Which? is urging people to be aware of the text messages, which are designed to steal your personal data. Many Amazon customers have taken to social media to warn other unsuspecting customers about the potential scam. Which? has since issued important advice on how not to be caught out, the Liverpool Echo reports.
According to Which?, one of the texts reads: "Amazon: We detected a login into your account from a new device on 27/09/2022 at 15:10:08 UTC. If this wasn’t you, you can terminate that session via: [https://checkup-amazon.com]."
Another text can say: "From Amazon - A new login has been attempted from IP address: 82.966.81.27 (Ipswich).If this was NOT you, secure your account immediately. [amazon-logins.com]."
When experts entered their details, they were taken to another "convincing" fraudulent webpage asking for a name, date of birth, mobile number, home address and email address. This is where your personal data will be stolen.
One telltale sign with these texts are the website URLs used as the genuine Amazon URLs are "Amazon.co.uk" and "Amazon.com'" Which? has reported the fake URLs to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
An Amazon spokesperson told Which?: "These messages were not sent by Amazon. Scammers that attempt to impersonate Amazon put our customers and our brand at risk. Although these scams take place outside our store, we will continue to invest in protecting customers and educating the public on scam avoidance.
"We encourage customers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe. Please visit our help pages to find additional information on how to identify scams and report them."
More information about the scams can be found by clicking here.
Amazon added that scam texts will often claim there is a problem with your account, but the retailer will never ask for your password or personal information by text message or ask customers to make a payment outside of its website.
