Amazon Scams, Dangerous Emails Increase Ahead of Prime Day: How to Protect Yourself

Italians are getting ready for Prime Day , but an increasingly widespread threat is lurking around the corner: online scams. The most anticipated event for digital shopping lovers turns, every year, into a real obstacle course where it is not only the offers that are tempting, but also the personal data of consumers, a coveted prey for malicious people on the net.

For this reason, Amazon has decided to explain how these scams work and how to defend yourself.

How the scam happens

The e-tech giant explains how the mechanism works: scammers send fraudulent emails claiming that Amazon Prime membership will automatically renew at a surprising price. The mechanism used by criminals is quite subtle: the company says that these emails include personal information about the victim gleaned from other sources so as to make them appear legitimate.

The emails often contain an “ unsubscribe ” button that links to fake Amazon login pages. This is where you need to resist the urge to click the unsubscribe button or any other link: scammers use fake websites to steal your Amazon login credentials and banking information.

How to defend yourself

Normally, these scams can be ignored without doing anything. However, if a user wants to verify their Prime membership , they must:

• go to Amazon.it or open your Amazon Mobile app;
• select “Prime” from the main menu to view your membership status, renewal dates, and plan details;
• If you have clicked on any suspicious links in the email, it is a good idea to check your credit/debit card statements for any unusual charges;
• if there are, you should contact your bank immediately for any unauthorized transactions;
• Report suspicious emails at amazon.it/reportascam.

However, Amazon suggests the simplest solution first: ignore these emails altogether.

How to recognize a phishing attempt

One of the main dangers that you are exposed to during these great online and digital shopping events is definitely phishing , that technique that aims to deceive users with fake emails or messages that often imitate the official ones. These days, there will be numerous emails that you will probably receive with fake Amazon addresses or those of some shipping companies.

To spot fake messages, just keep an eye on a couple of things:

• often these fraudulent emails are full of (intentional) grammatical errors;
• It is a good idea to check whether the promoted offers actually exist on the official Amazon website and, finally, if you receive a particularly alarming (and therefore suspicious) message from a shipping service, do not click on the links they make available.

The impact of AI

In the wake of phishing, it is also important to note the increasingly important role of artificial intelligence . This technology allows scammers to create highly realistic content — such as text, audio, and deceptive web pages — making fraud even more sophisticated and difficult to detect. In some cases, you may even receive a phone call: if this happens, calling the number back can be useful to verify the identity of the person you are calling.

The advice is to use secure payment systems and therefore digital wallets or those banks that allow you to create temporary cards. Finally, pay attention to the reviews of the sellers you trust, verifying that they are secure, especially if they are third parties.