Be careful the next time you contact Amazon for customer support. You could end up giving a thief access to your bank account or credit card.
Scammers are posting fake Amazon customer support phone numbers online and then impersonating the online retail giant when unwitting Amazon customers call, the blog Krebs on Security reports.
The latest scam
Cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs explains on his blog:
“Performing a simple online search for Amazon customer support phone numbers can turn up some dubious and outright fraudulent results.”
Amazon customers have reportedly been scammed after searching for Amazon’s customer support number online and calling a phony number. The people who answer ask for personal information, including bank account and credit card details.
Once they get that information from customers, the scammers use it to open new accounts at Amazon and elsewhere — including at a website where they can buy virtual currency like bitcoin.
Staying safe on Amazon
Amazon netted $60.5 billion in sales during the last quarter of 2017 alone, according to the company’s latest financials. In other words, shoppers collectively spend billions of dollars at Amazon every month.
So, it’s no surprise that scammers would go after the wallets of Amazon customers. In fact, we’ve already seen thieves forge Amazon emails and use Amazon gift cards to target customers.
Fake Amazon phone numbers are just another avenue for these scammers — and there are others. Krebs details one involving apparently phony accounts on CreateSpace, an Amazon-owned self-publishing platform.
We’re not trying to freak you out, though. Shopping on Amazon is as safe as shopping elsewhere — as long as you play it safe, as you should anytime you shop online.
You can also find many answers and solve many issues on Amazon's help pages.
We also reached out to Amazon on Wednesday to ask the best ways to contact customer support. We had yet to hear back by publication time but will update this post if we do hear back.
Meanwhile, check out “7 Ways to Guard Your Wallet — and Identity — When Shopping Online” for more tips.
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