A new phone scam is targeting Amazon customers in New Jersey, and on the surface it sounds like it is legitimate.
I got one of these calls on Monday.
The caller ID read “Amazon Fulfillment,” so I picked it up. It just happened that I had been waiting for a package to arrive that was delayed.
A recorded message in a pleasant female voice warned they had detected “unusual activity” on my Amazon account. The call was very specific, saying someone had ordered a MacPro computer and Apple EarPods.
If I didn’t place this order, I was instructed to “press one,” and I would be connected to the Amazon Fraud Division.
For a moment, I almost did it.
Then I hung up and did a quick check of my Amazon order history, and realized it was a scam.
On their website, Amazon warns, “While some departments at Amazon will make outbound calls to customers, Amazon will never ask you to disclose or verify sensitive personal information, or offer you a refund you do not expect.”
A further search of scam reporting websites explains if I had pressed one, I would have been connected to a person who would try and get my Amazon password and verify my credit card information.
I regularly report on these types of scams, yet even I almost fell for this one.
Similar scams are being run via text and email. Never click on any links.
Given how much of our purchasing has moved on-line, these types of scams are growing.
The reason scammers keep doing this is very simple: it works. And I almost fell for it.
Take this as a…
