A warning has been issued as Amazon customers in Gedling borough continue to be targeted by phone scammers who claim that iPhones or other expensive items have been added to their shopping baskets.
The scam begins with a phone call from someone pretending to be from Amazon’s fraud department. They claim your Amazon accounts have been hacked by criminals attempting to steal an iPhone 16 costing £799, or other high-value items such as gift cards.
Many people said the callers addressed them by their full names and they could hear the sounds of busy call centres in the background.
When the victim logs in to your account to check, as instructed, they will indeed find that iPhones or other expensive items have been added to their basket. Several people reported trying to remove these items from their baskets, but they kept reappearing. This is because the scammers have already taken over the account and can simply add these items back in each time.
The scammer, taking advantage of the victim’s heightened state of panic, will then try to persuade them to give them access to their device to ‘to secure your Amazon account’ or transfer money if they convince you that your bank apps have also been compromised.
Shoppers are now being advised to ensure they have a two-factor authentication on their Amazon account. This means when you sign in with your details a code is sent to your phone or email to complete the log-in process. Without this, a scammer only has to guess the username and password of the victim.
5 red flags to spot this Amazon impersonation scam
Which? magazine advises consumers to be aware of these five red flags to help you steer clear of most scam callers:
- They seem to know lots about you
Callers may reel off lots of information that suggests they’re legitimate, but remember they may have already done some digging on you, or gained access to your emails and other accounts. - They create a sense of urgency and panic
Scammers fabricate any scenario to reel you in, including pretending your account has been compromised by hackers looking to steal popular and expensive goods such as iPhones. - They want a security code
It’s easy for an attacker to trigger a genuine security check from Amazon if they already have your username (your phone number or email address) and password, so never share these codes over the phone (anyone asking for these is a scammer). - They want you to download an app
Victims told us they were asked to download remote-access apps such as AnyDesk and Zoho Assist, or payment apps such as Prezzee (a gift card app), Revolut (an e-money firm), Xoom (a PayPal service for sending money to friends and family) and Zing (an international money app by HSBC). Ignore any cold caller asking you to download apps or files until you can contact the business securely to confirm it’s genuine. - They are rude or persistent
Some scammers become impatient when you don’t do exactly what you are told. Rudeness isn’t reserved for scammers, of course, but they are more likely that a genuine call handler to get there quickly.
