A new phishing scam involves faking Amazon calls in an attempt to break into people’s accounts.
The crooks claiming to call from Amazon tell the person on the phone that they bought an iPhone for £ 900 and that the call is aimed at helping cancel the order.
The caller sends a text message sent by Amazon with a passcode that allows anyone to log in and reset the account password.
Read more: Warning of over £ 1,000 fine for breaking these winter driving rules
The caller then requests the passcode over the phone to take control of the Amazon account, including the stored credit card information.
Phone call scams like this are also known as phishing. Phishing is a type of cyber attack that can include individuals posing as a legitimate institution trying to trick people into transmitting sensitive information.
Sometimes phishers will also try to trick victims into installing malware on their phone or computer.
A man, who identifies as a cop in his biography on Twitter, shared his experience with the crooks on social media.
He wrote: “I got a call from @Amazonuk saying I bought an iPhone for £ 900 and they wanted to help cancel. Over the phone, they send an SMS (which comes from Amazon) with a password. The operator asks you to pass the code over the phone – boom, they’re in your account! The people of RT! “
Amazon confirmed that these calls were not from the company.
An Amazon support representative wrote: “These calls are not from Amazon. You can find more information on these phishing messages and how to report them here“.
In addition to suspicious phone calls and texts, Amazon warns of certain web pages and emails.
The company recommends sending suspicious pages and emails to [email protected]. The best way to track an email is to send it as an attachment to the aforementioned email address as per the company’s help page.