Many consumers receive mails which appear to be from Amazon, but in fact they are faked. In most cases, it is phishing which means the attempt to steal personal data from the receivers.
The European Consumer Centre Austria (ECC) currently gets a lot of hints from attentive consumers regarding faked Amazon mails. They seem professional as, for instance, the sender is “bestellbestaetigung@amazon.de” which is very similar to the actual Amazon address. So consumers have to look very carefully to recognize the fake.
Report phishing mails to Amazon
Amazon knows about the mails and provides consumers with the possibility to report such attempts via stop-spoofing@amazon.com. If you’re not sure if the mail you received is fake or not, you can also contact Amazon and ask for help. More information about how to report phishing or fraud can be found at this website of Amazon.
Amazon also set up another website with helpful tips on how to distinguish between fake and real Amazon mails.
Tips from your European Consumer Centre Austria (ECC):
- Look carefully at the sender!
- Don’t open mails that appear suspicious. An example: If you receive a mail with an order confirmation or an invoice without having ordered anything, it is very likely to be a fraud!
- Such fraudulent mails often include attachments or links. Don’t open them as they may contain a virus or malware!
- Don’t let them intimate you with an aggressive tone, warnings or payment reminders. If you’re not sure wether or not you have to pay something, please contact Amazon as described above. If you need further help, you can also contact the ECC Austria at info@europakonsument.at!
- Forward the mails directly to Amazon and delete them afterwards. Make sure that they are not only deleted from the inbox, but also from the “deleted files”-folder of your mail program. Then you should also make sure that the mail is deleted on all your devices (PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone).
- Don’t answer and never give away personal data like bank account numbers, passwords or insurance number!
If you need help, please feel free to contact the European Consumer Centre Austria (ECC).
