Phony emails from people impersonating online retailers like Amazon are not new, but phishing attempts tend to increase during significant sales events like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day, according to the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
“This is a crucial moment on the retail calendar,” said Josh Planos, vice president of communications and public relations at the BBB. “It’s a prime opportunity for scammers, con artists, or unethical businesses to exploit and deceive people, separating them from their hard-earned money.”
Prime Day, a two-day discount event for Amazon Prime members, runs from Tuesday through Wednesday. The BBB recently published guidance reminding consumers to be wary of lookalike websites, too-good-to-be-true social media ads, and unsolicited emails or calls during sales events.
This year, consumers may need to be more cautious than ever. The BBB reported a record number of phishing incidents in 2023, with trends continuing upward this year.
A recent report by Check Point Software Technologies, an Israel-founded cybersecurity company, highlighted that over 1,230 new websites associating themselves with Amazon appeared in June, most of which were malicious or suspicious.
Scott Knapp, director of worldwide buyer risk prevention at Amazon, identified two common scam areas around Prime Day: Prime membership and order confirmations.
“Last year, more than two-thirds of scams reported by Amazon customers were related to order or account issues,” Knapp said. People received unsolicited calls or emails claiming there were issues with their Prime membership and requesting bank account or payment information to reinstate their accounts.
Another common scam tactic involves urging consumers to confirm an order they didn’t place. Scammers often select expensive items like smartphones to grab attention. They then ask for payment information or send malicious links. They may also use false promises of giveaways or create a sense of urgency.
Amazon is committed to preventing scammers from exploiting its brand, Knapp emphasized, adding that customers can verify their purchases and messages on Amazon’s app or website.
While the specific scams that might appear this Prime Day are uncertain, experts note that common shopping scams tend to resurface each year.
“The basic structure of these scams remains consistent,” Planos said, referencing fake delivery scams, email phishing, and other methods aimed at obtaining personal and payment information.
However, online scams are becoming more sophisticated. Images and messages may appear more legitimate, and fake websites closely mimic real shopping destinations. With artificial intelligence, scams targeting e-commerce shoppers are increasingly generated by machines rather than people.
In 2023, consumers reported losing about $10 billion to fraud, a 14% increase from 2022, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Online shopping scams were the second most reported type of fraud, following impostor scams.
The FTC and BBB offer year-round tips to avoid scams, such as blocking unwanted messages, not sharing financial information with unsolicited callers, and checking links before clicking. Secure websites will have “HTTPS” in the URL, not “HTTP.”
Experts also advise pausing and trusting your instincts if pressured to act immediately. Reporting scams to regulators is crucial.
Beyond scams impersonating companies or retailers, consumers should also beware of counterfeit products and fake reviews on trusted retailer sites. Shopping on Amazon, for example, doesn’t guarantee that you’re buying from Amazon itself, as it has a vast third-party marketplace.
The quality and appearance of counterfeit products have improved significantly, making them harder to detect. A key indicator is price: if a product is being sold for less than 75% of its usual market rate, that’s a red flag.
Counterfeit products can appear on various platforms, including Amazon. Planos advises checking companies on the BBB’s website, especially during high-spending periods.
In response to the pressure to combat counterfeit products, Amazon has reported removing millions of fake products in recent years and blocking billions of bad listings from its site. In 2023, Amazon identified, seized, and appropriately disposed of over 7 million counterfeit items and filed multiple lawsuits against fake review brokers.
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Amazon customers can report fake reviews and other scams on the company’s website. If a shopper purchases a counterfeit item detected by Amazon, the company will proactively contact the customer and issue a refund.
