Millions of Brits are set to log onto Amazon this week for the retailer’s biggest sale of the year.
The eagerly-anticipated Prime Day 2022 will start just after midnight on Tuesday morning (July 12) and end on Wednesday evening (July 13), with the event promising big discounts on a wide range of items, from saucepans to smart watches.
Unfortunately, Prime Day also attracts cyber criminals disturbingly keen to take advantage of eager customers rushing to bag a bargain.
Last year, an incredible 2,300 fake Amazon websites were set up ahead of the sale, as hackers tried to grab a piece of the £9.4billion spent on goods worldwide.
In a bid to help keep you safe, cybersecurity expert at NordVPN Adrianus Warmenhoven has a rundown of the most popular scams designed to dupe Amazon customers:
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1. Marketplace Mock-Up
Online hackers will go to great lengths to try to fleece their victims, even creating replicas of the special homepage Amazon hosts during Prime Day - complete with working web links! Once they have visitors using the fake site, they will be able to steal personal information and banking details.
How to avoid: While these bogus sites are hard to distinguish from the genuine article, they will have a slightly different domain name, so make sure you only visit Amazon by typing in the legitimate UK address, Amazon.co.uk, into your search engine. The site you visit should start with 'https' rather than 'http', showing it is secure.
2. Verification Game
A form of phishing, hackers will send out an e-mail or text message asking the recipient to enter their log-in details to verify their account. They may even claim that there has been a fraudulent attempt to access it already, and you can only regain control by confirming your password.
How to avoid: This scam is a classic form of social engineering, that trades on Amazon’s well-known status and may include the company logo. If you receive a message claiming to be from the company, do not click on any links. It’s likely there will be clues in the message, such as bad grammar and spelling mistakes, which show the message is not genuine. Only log into your account by visiting Amazon directly through your web browser — always remember: if there are any security issues, there will be a message for you under your profile.
3. The Trojan Gift Card
Due to the huge range of items Amazon stocks, its e-gift cards make popular presents — as hackers know only too well. They will often trick people into buying online vouchers, sometimes by posing as family members, and then get them to reveal their unique card numbers.
Fraudsters can then instantly redeem the gift coupons, which cannot then be reused. To encourage potential victims to react quickly they often pile the pressure on with claims that a deal won’t be there for long. This could be particularly convincing during the Prime Day event, where lots of items are only on offer at a reduced price for an hour or two.
How to avoid: Always be suspicious of messages that encourage you to make a quick response, and always speak to loved ones and friends on the phone before making transactions you believe they have asked for.
4. Suspicious Package
With millions of us enjoying the convenience of on-line shopping, consumers are well used to receiving notifications about deliveries from retailers or courier firms. This has led to a rise in fake package scams, which usually peak in the wake of big sales events such as Prime Day. In this hoax, an e-mail or text is sent to a would-be victim giving an order number and a link to track the package. Once clicked, a hacker has you in their sights and may follow up by asking for a small payment to speed up delivery, or claim there is an extra fee to pay.
How to avoid: This scam relies heavily on smoke and mirrors, and finding a victim that regularly orders online. You should be able to check through your Amazon account if the stated order number on the original message is genuine but, even if it is, you shouldn’t engage with the text or e-mail.
5. Prize Draw
With this fraud, a message claims you’ve won a prize but must click on a link for it to be delivered. The link is operated by criminals and will likely lead to your credentials being stolen, or your phone or computer infected with malware.
How to avoid: Things that look too good to be true often are. Amazon has not run a prize draw for several years. Focus on deal- hunting instead and, unless you have double-checked the source of a message, click on rogue links at your peril.
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