Keep an eye out for fake Amazon order notification emails that ask you to call “fraud prevention support” if you didn’t authorize the supposed payment.
The emails, which feature seemingly authentic Amazon branding, list supposed purchases for high priced items such as smart TVs and game consoles. The total cost of the listed purchases is usually several thousand dollars.
These emails are not from Amazon and they do not contain details of any real purchases made via your Amazon account.
The goal of the scam emails is to panic you into calling the supposed fraud prevention number. The scammers hope that you will call in the mistaken belief that your account has been compromised and that high-value items have been purchased using your credit card.
If you do call, you will be connected to a scammer posing as an Amazon fraud prevention support worker. After you explain the situation, the scammer will claim that the purchase can be reversed and the supposed account breach rectified.
Then, the scammer will claim that to proceed with the reversal, he or she will need you to provide your credit card details, your Amazon login credentials, your name and address, and other sensitive personal information.
After you provide the requested information, the scammer will assure you that the transaction has been reversed and that the funds will be put back into your account within a specified time-frame such as 24 hours.
You may then relax, believing that you have dealt with the issue. But, now, the scammers can use the information stolen from you to hijack your Amazon account and make fraudulent purchases in your name, fraudulently use your credit card, and, possibly, steal your identity as well.
If you receive an email that claims to be from Amazon and lists purchases you know nothing about, be sure to proceed with caution. Do not call any number listed in the email. Do not click any links or open any attachments that the email contains.
Instead, log in to your Amazon account via your browser or a trusted app and check for any unauthorised purchases. Also, check your bank or credit card provider. If the email is a scam, there will be no unexpected transactions listed in your accounts.
If there are such transactions, you can then contact your credit card provider and Amazon for assistance.
Don’t get caught! These scams work because the emails may appear genuine at first glance and they are designed to get people to act quickly without due forethought.
Screenshots of these scam emails:
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
