Amazon has warned Prime members to
be careful about which emails they open. Scammers are now targeting Prime members with a fraudulent notification about their membership rates.
Of course, this isn’t the only scam
being conducted via email. What makes it different is that Prime has 200 million members, giving it a potential global impact.
It’s another tawdry use of our great
medium.
The scam works like this. The email advises the consumer that their Prime membership fee is about to rise automatically to a very high level.
The
emails look like they come from Amazon, and some contain personal information that only Amazon presumably would know.
Many people will be so upset by the new rates
that they will cancel their membership at once. And that’s where the bad actors will nail them.
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“Amazon deals can be exciting for a
consumer, but have proven to be a breeding ground for scammers who are looking to take advantage of vulnerable shoppers,” says Al Pascual, CEO of Scamnetic. “With deals and
advertisements all over the internet, scammers have bought prime real estate on Google Ads at the top of the page in hopes that someone perceives it as a legitimate ad.”
What should consumers do? “It’s important that you do not click on links, as the consumer will be redirected to a site that could deliver malware to your device and
attempt to collect payment information,” Pascual says. “Reading the link thoroughly, being mindful of what is at the top of the website, and ensuring that spelling is correct can prevent
scammers from accessing sensitive information.”
For its part, Amazon urges members to watch out for that these dead giveaways that a scam is in motion:
- False
urgency
- Asking for personal information
- Purchases outside of Amazon