AMAZON Prime Day is right around the corner – and scammers are gearing up to get their hands on your private information.
Prime Day, the annual shopping event exclusively for Prime members, sees tremendous markdowns on everything from electronics to homeware.
The event has proven wildly popular, bringing in $12.9 billion from shoppers around the globe last year.
However, scammers are poised to strike amid the commotion and launch phishing attacks to crack into your Amazon account.
The term describes a scheme where cybercriminals attempt to convince targets to hand over sensitive information.
And a new cyberattack is on the rise – vishing, or voice phishing, which sees the same plot carried out over the phone.
Scammers will urge you to surrender information like credit card details and logins while posing as legitimate Amazon employees.
They may claim your Prime account has expired and ask for your information to “renew it.”
These schemes may also come in the form of text messages notifying you of “suspicious activity on your account” or claiming you’ve qualified for a promotion.
Messages will often be accompanied by a link. However, clicking it leads to a website that’s designed to steal information and compromise your Amazon account.
These spoofed websites will look like the actual Amazon webpage and may even have a similar web address, or URL.
However, if you look closely, you will catch inconsistencies. The URL may have numbers in place of letters or an unusual domain.
A spoofed website may not just urge you to enter your personal information – it may also download malware onto your device.
To ensure you’re purchasing from Amazon and not a spoofed seller, only shop from the retailer’s official site.
Navigate directly to amazon.com or amazon.co.uk rather than following links on a search engine, as it may be difficult to discern which ones are the real deal.
You can also use Amazon‘s official app, which is available on Android and iOS.
A generally helpful tip is to avoid clicking unsolicited links or attachments.
Amazon will never call or message you to confirm personal details.
Nor will a representative ask you to provide sensitive information such as credit card details or login information.
Here Mackenzie Tatananni, science and technology reporter at The U.S. Sun, breaks down ways a scammer may get your information.
Scammers commonly get phone numbers from data breaches, which occur when a hacker accesses a private database – often those maintained by companies like service providers and employers.
This information may be shared and circulated online, including on the dark web, where there are forums dedicated to sharing leaked information.
Another common technique called wardialing employs an automated system that targets specific area codes.
A recorded message will instruct the listener to enter sensitive information, like a card number and PIN.
There is also a far more harrowing possibility: your phone number could be listed online without your knowledge.
Data brokers are hungry to buy and sell your information. These companies gather information from various public sources online, including social media and public records
Their primary goal is to build databases of people and use this information for tailored advertising and marketing.
Much of this information ends up on public record sites, which display information like your phone number, email, home address, and date of birth for anyone to see.
In the United States, these sites are legally required to remove your information if you request it.
Locate your profile and follow the opt-out instructions, but be warned – these sites do not make it easy and intend to frustrate you out of completing the deregistration process.
For simplicity’s sake, you can also use a tool to purge your information from the Internet.
Norton offers one such service. Called the Privacy Monitor Assistant, the tool finds info online and requests removal on your behalf.
It is also possible that your phone number may be linked to a social media account and publicly displayed on your profile – this happens quite frequently with Facebook.
Be sure to review your privacy settings and confirm this information is hidden away from prying eyes.
It is also worth ensuring your Amazon account is well-defended from hackers, which begins with strong login credentials.
You can use a password generator for a randomized result rather than relying on recognizable phrases, names, and dates.
Amazon shoppers can also enable passkeys on their accounts.
The retailer announced the feature in October 2023, allowing users to sign in using a highly secure face scan, fingerprint, or PIN code.
