Black Friday deals are here – but shoppers have been urged to be vigilant when online shopping in case they fall victim to thieves.
This time of year can be such easy money for scammers, so Amazon has sent an email to more than three hundred million customers to warn them about fake messages and dodgy ads.
The email, sent on Monday as the sale season started, lists five specific ways that shoppers are being targeted, which also includes unsolicited phone calls and emails asking people to verify their account credentials.
Mike Andrews, of National Trading Standards, told Metro that scammers play a ‘percentage game’ in the run-up to Christmas, typically the busiest time of year for retailers.
‘They know that a large proportion of consumers are likely to have bought from Amazon, or are likely to be expecting parcel deliveries in the coming days and weeks,’ he said.
‘So they have two goes at trying to catch you out, one with the fake Amazon email and one with the missed parcel delivery.’
The government-funded National Trading Standards (NTS) warned of a deluge of scams. Some 6.4million of us have already lost money after clicking on a fake advert, and 100million disappointing items have been bought based on misleading reviews.
Five attacks targeting Amazon shoppers
The email to customers warned them specifically of:
- Fake messages claiming to be about delivery or account issues.
- Third-party social media posts and ads with deals that seem too good to be true, warning people to shop directly on their website or mobile app to find authentic offers.
- Messages through unofficial channels asking for your password or payment information.
- Unfamiliar links asking you to verify your account credentials through fake or phishing websites – Amazon said they will never send emails asking customers to verify their account credentials.
- Unsolicited phone calls claiming to be from tech support or other agencies.
‘Don’t just rely on reviews’
If you’re buying on Amazon, it’s not only scammers outside the platform you need to watch out for.
Mike warned that artificial intelligence now makes it possible to generate fake reviews on a huge scale, and bots can leave so many that it can be hard to determine what really is a highly rated product – and what might even be dangerous.
‘Scammers will try and game the review system,’ he said, whether that is on a search engine like Google, a specific site for reviews like Trustpilot, or platforms like Amazon.
‘It’s very difficult to put a precise figure on what proportion of reviews may or may not be misleading, and I wouldn’t want to discourage consumers completely from making use of review sites,’ he said. ‘But people just shouldn’t rely on that.’
There are some hints that reviews might not be genuine, such as lots of reviews posted in a very short time frame: ‘So if a product’s only been listed for a day or two, and all of a sudden there are hundreds and hundreds of glowing reviews.’
Poor spelling and grammar is no longer a giveaway, as the fake reviews are now polished thanks to AI. But Mike warned they could be vague, such as those just saying ‘Wow, what a great product’ and nothing else.
Not talking about the specific features of the product could also be a red flag. If you’re not sure, there are review checkers that can analyse reviews to indicate if they seem legitimate, such as TheReviewIndex and RateBud.
What are scammers after?
It depends on the scam. For fake reviews or fake adverts, they want to encourage you to spend money on a poor quality product, or one that won’t be delivered at all.
Fake messages and calls are more likely to be after your personal data, like financial information or your Amazon account details.
Mike warned that adverts on social media which look legitimate can actually link to ‘extremely realistic and believable websites’ such as local boutiques with video of the owners, or a Christmas market outside Buckingham Palace which didn’t actually exist.
He said: ‘The whole site, the pictures, the videos are all AI generated, and unfortunately, what the consumers end up with in those cases is usually some very cheap or inferior product shipped from China and not what they were expecting: a nice cashmere jumper or scarf for a loved one is actually cheap rubbish from from China, and the consumers are left out of pocket.’
‘Sound the alarm’
Lynette Owens, VP of Global Consumer Education at Trend Micro, told Metro: ‘Amazon is absolutely right to sound the alarm. Nearly half of Brits plan to spend even more time bargain-hunting during the festive season, and scammers are primed to take advantage.
‘Scams come in layers – emails, texts, fake websites and even phone calls – quickly turning a tempting discount into a delivery scam or serious financial fraud.
‘Worryingly, our research shows that 1 in 4 shoppers have spotted online ads impersonating a well-known brand, making it even easier for scammers to lure people in through trusted names.
‘With scammers getting smarter, Amazon’s proactive stance is exactly what’s needed. This season, a little caution goes a long way in protecting both consumer’s money, and their festive spirit.’
I’ve been scammed: now what?
The government’s Stop! Think Fraud campaign says that if you’ve given a fraudster your bank details, ‘contact your bank immediately and explain what’s happened – even if no money has been taken from your bank account yet. They will help you to protect your account, for example by cancelling your card or showing you how to change your security details. reset your passwords.’
If you have revealed your password or PIN, change it immediately in account security settings, and if you use the same password elsewhere, change it on all other accounts too.
Be especially careful in the months following a scam, as scammers sell on victims’ details to other criminals as someone who may be able to be scammed again.
Both debit and credit card users may be able to use the Chargeback scheme to request money back if purchases arrive damaged, not as advertised, or simply don’t arrive at all, although in general credit cards offer more protection for online purchases.
Update your anti-virus software if you were scammed online and think it is possible your device could have been compromised.
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