Amazon Issues Urgent Scam Warning For Iowa Residents

Another Amazon Prime Day, or four days, is in the rearview mirror. The July 8th - July 11th cost savings extravaganza.

The company made billions off of the promotion and increased brand awareness, not that anyone is unaware of what Amazon does.

The annual Prime Day, which previously lasted two days, not four, likely also boosted Prime memberships.

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Now, Amazon is issuing a warning to its Prime members.

Scam Alert: Amazon Issues a New Warning

Amazon alerted about 220 million Prime customers of a mass phishing campaign targeting Prime accounts, according to Forbes.

Scams using major companies as a method to gain trust with a victim are nothing new, but this one is a little different since the scam implies the Prime user has already been scammed.

What these scammers are doing is attempting to impersonate Amazon by sending emails warning of unexpected Prime membership renewals and urging users to click fake "cancel subscription" links.

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As you might imagine, the links lead to a fraudulent Amazon login page; entering credentials gives scammers access, and sometimes payment details too.

Criminals can misuse credentials for unauthorized purchases, credential stuffing across accounts, or malware installation on your phone or computer.

What You Can Do

There are several ways you can avoid scams from fake Amazon workers, or anyone claiming to be part of a major company.

• It's always crucial to check the sender’s email address. Legit Amazon emails come from Amazon's domain only.
• Avoid urgent emails. Amazon typically notifies you via its app, not email
• Don’t click links. Go directly to Amazon.com or use the app to verify account status.
• Enable 2FA, use unique strong passwords, and consider a password manager.
• Run antivirus software to detect malware if you suspect you clicked a malicious link.

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Amazon has sent widespread warnings after scammers targeted Prime subscribers with urgent-sounding phishing emails.

If you get a suspicious message, pause, verify through official Amazon channels, and don’t click the link.

When in doubt, reach out to Customer Service directly.