AMAZON SECURITY SCAM
November 19, 2020

Shoppers using Amazon should know about a major phishing scam which has been targeting the Sacramento Valley.

The scammers target victims via an automated telephone call claiming that an expensive item which does not match the user's profile has been charged to their Amazon account , and to  "press one" to speak to a representative. 

However,  doing so will connect the call to a scammer with a heavy accent who is posing as an Amazon customer service representative.  The scammer confirms with the recipient of the call that the "purchase" was fraudulent and then asks how the recipient accessed Amazon.  If it was by computer, the scammer tells the recipient that they need to secure their Amazon account, and the scammer can help them.  The scammer then asks for remote access to the recipient's computer, supposedly to fix the problem and make sure no one else uses the recipient's account.   Remote access gives control access allowing the scammers to steal personal information, including passwords and banking information.

AMAZON WILL NEVER CONTACT YOU IN THIS MANNER.

If you receive one of these scam calls or ever get a suspicious email claiming to be from Amazon, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint and follow the on-screen assistant.

To report a phishing or spoofed email or webpage:

1. Open a new email and attach the email you suspect is fake.  For suspicious web pages, copy and paste the link into the email body. If you can't send the email as an attachment, forward it.
2. Send the email to stop-spoofing@amazon.com

    

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