Counterfeit Amazon emails claiming you have placed an order

There have been reports of victims receiving legitimate looking emails claiming to be from the well-known online giant Amazon.

The spoofed emails from “service@amazon.co.uk” state recipients have placed an online order and impersonate an automatic email notification.

The scam email says recipients have ordered expensive goods such as iPhones, Bose stereos and luxury watches. Criminals are smart and know how to lure their victims!

The emails cunningly state that if you haven’t approved the transaction you can click on the help centre link to obtain a full refund. The link then takes you to a website which looks completely genuine, and asks you to confirm your personal details such as name, address, and bank card information.

Amazon will never ask for personal information to be provided by e-mail.

Amazon declares that suspicious e-mails usually contain:

• Requests for personal information such as your username, password, numbers from your bank card, pin number, mother’s maiden name or any other personal data
• Links to websites that look like Amazon.co.uk but they actually aren’t
• Attachments or prompts to install software on your computer
• Typos or spelling errors
• Fake (or spoofed) e-mail addresses to make it look like the e-mail is coming from Amazon.co.uk
• Requests to update payment information through a link provided to you in an e-mail

If you receive order confirmation for an item you haven’t purchased and you’re unsure, the best way to safely check is by opening a new browser window, manually typing in the Amazon website and viewing ‘Your Orders’ placed to see if there’s an order which matches the details in the e-mail.

To report a suspicious email to Amazon simply action one of the following:

1. Open a new e-mail and attach the e-mail you suspect is fake
2. If you can’t send the e-mail as an attachment, you can forward it

Send the e-mail to: stop-spoofing@amazon.com

Remember to be assertive and take caution with emails you receive. Also be mindful when you are online generally.