Scams are quite common online and are often presented as being from popular sites. Scammers will pose as companies such as Amazon and ask for personal information or other concerning details.
Therefore, if customers are seeing emails in their account from Amazon, how can they tell if they are a scam or not? If you’d like to find out, keep reading this article to see what I learned!
Key Takeaways
How to Spot Fake Amazon Emails In 2022
Customers can spot fake Amazon emails by checking for inappropriate questions. Amazon will never request information such as social security numbers, tax ID, bank account numbers, credit card information, or passwords. If customers are seeing these questions in emails supposedly sent from Amazon, they are being sent from scammers and should be deleted.
Keep reading through this article if you’d like to learn more about avoiding fake Amazon emails, how to report the emails to Amazon, how to spot scams and more useful tips, facts and information!
How Do I Stop Receiving Fake Amazon Emails?
If customers are receiving multiple scams in their email framed to look like Amazon messages, they can take a number of different steps to keep such messages out of their inbox:
1. Mark the Emails as Spam
Most of the time, email services like Gmail, Outlook and iCloud will filter out fake and scam emails and place them in a folder labeled “Spam.”
However, if customers notice a fake Amazon email has slipped into their regular inbox, they can dispose of it by marking it as “Spam.”
Every email service will have slightly different methods for marking emails into the Spam folder. Therefore, customers can check their email account settings and help features in order to figure out how to move an email to spam.
2. Make Your Email Address Private
Customers who regularly give out their email address will increase their chances of being added to scam mail lists.
However, customers have the option to change their privacy settings on their email account and change their address to “Private.”
Once an email is switched to a more secure privacy setting, scammers will have a more difficult time accessing the email address, which will lower the chances of spam emails popping up on a customer’s account.
In order to increase the privacy of an email address, customers are recommended to refrain from leaving social media and online comments through their email address.
However, if the website they are using requires an email address to comment and take other actions, it’s recommended customers create a separate account for social media purposes.
3. Use a Third-party Spam Filter
While most email services have their own spam filter, customers may consider utilizing a third-party spam filter for more accurate filtration.
Customers can use services such as N-able Mail Assure, SpamTitan, and other similar services to better filter Amazon scams out of their account.
In addition to filtering out Amazon scams, these third-party filters can also get rid of malware threats, attacks, and other undesirable content.
It’s recommended that customers look for a spam filter that is notably compatible with the email service that they use, in order to better accurately filter out any spam emails that show up in their account.
4. Unsubscribe from Email Lists
A good way to prevent fake Amazon emails from showing up in an email account is for customers to cancel their email subscriptions when subscribed to multiple websites.
When marketers are looking for email addresses to spam, they’ll often purchase that information from companies that have mailing lists.
Therefore, customers who are subscribed to Amazon email alerts may want to consider canceling their subscription if they’re beginning to receive fake Amazon emails.
Who Sends Fake Amazon Emails?
Generally, fake Amazon emails are sent by phishers and hackers who are attempting to gain personal information about the person receiving the email.
For example, if a scam email requests a customer’s banking information, and the customer mistakes the email as being legitimate, they run the risk of their money or identity being stolen.
Therefore, customers are urged to carefully analyze any email supposedly from Amazon that appears suspicious. Amazon will not request any personal information from customers in an email.
Therefore, if an email tagged as being from Amazon asks for personal details, the email should be dismissed as a scam and immediately disposed of.
What Types of Scams Come From Fake Amazon Emails?
In most cases, Amazon scam emails are sent to try and obtain personal information that can be used for multiple nefarious purposes.
Some of the most popular scams are to steal your identity and put credit cards under your name, gain access to your accounts with your address/social security number, and also to defraud your friends/family by asking them for money on your behalf.
What are Other Types of Fake Amazon Messages?
In addition to email scams, phishers and hackers will pretend to be Amazon through text messages, phone calls, and social media.
Customers should be aware that some scam phone calls may be from real people who are posing as customer service representatives.
Therefore, if customers feel the phone call is illegitimate, they are recommended to hang up immediately and contact Amazon customer service themselves to confirm if the phone call was real. If the phone call was fake, Amazon will take steps to rectify the issue.
What Should I Avoid Doing With an Amazon Scam?
When customers receive Amazon scam emails, they are urged to refrain from clicking on the email links, as sometimes these links can release computer viruses and other dangerous issues.
As well, customers should avoid replying to emails with any kind of personal information such as their credit card number or personal address.
Customers should note that while Amazon does reach out to customers through email, they never request any personal information.
Additionally, if customers notice an email title is written in an unusual font, has spelling and grammar mistakes or contains characters other than letters and numbers, this is a good indication that the email is a scam and should not be opened.
How Do I Report a Scam Email to Amazon?
Amazon has two methods for reporting scams and phishing. If customers received a suspicious email, they can report it by doing the following:
- Open a new email and address it to [email protected]
- Attach the email you suspect to be fake. However, if the email cannot be sent as an attachment, customers can simply forward the email to Amazon.
Second, in order for customers to report a suspicious Amazon phone call, they must visit ftc.gov/complaint and follow the on-screen instructions for reporting the call to the Federal Trade Commission.
To know more about Amazon, you can also read our posts on Amazon empty package, Amazon fake products policy, and if Amazon has a phone number to call.
Conclusion
In order to spot a fake Amazon email, customers can look for requests for personal information, links to free gift cards, typos and an overuse of non-numeric characters. If an Amazon email contains any of these details, it is likely a scam and should be deleted.