NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon Prime Day is here, and experts are reminding consumers to be wary of scams.
Deceptions such as fake emails from people pretending to be online retailers like Amazon are not new. But phishing attempts The increase is driven by the high spending seen during major sales events, whether it’s Black Friday or Prime Day, according to the Better Business Bureau.
“This is an important time in the retail calendar,” said Josh Planos, vice president of communications and public relations at the Better Business Bureau. told the Associated Press“And because of that, it presents a huge opportunity for a scammer, a con artist or even just an unethical business or organization to capitalize on the opportunity and rob people of their hard-earned money.”
Prime Day, a two-day event discount event The Amazon Prime membership offer begins Tuesday and runs through Wednesday. In updated guidelines released last week, the Better Business Bureau reminded consumers to be wary of lookalike websites, too-good-to-be-true social media ads and unsolicited emails or calls during sales events this month.
Consumers may need to be more vigilant this year than ever before. In June, the Better Business Bureau released a report saying it received a record number of phishing reports in 2023. The number of reports is also up year-to-date, the organization said.
In a report this month, Israeli-based cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies said that more than 1,230 new websites partnering with Amazon appeared in June. The vast majority of them were malicious or looked suspicious, according to Check Point.
Scott Knapp, Amazon’s director of global buyer risk prevention, identifies two areas where the company has seen Prime Day hoaxes in recent years: Prime Membership and order confirmations.
Last yearFor example, more than two-thirds of the scams reported by Amazon customers claimed to be related to order or account issues, Knapp wrote in an emailed statement. People reported receiving unsolicited calls or emails saying there was a problem with their Prime membership and asking for bank account information or other payment information to get their account reinstated, Knapp said.
He adds that there’s also a common tactic at this time of year to lure consumers into confirming an order they didn’t place. Scammers may choose a big-ticket item, like a smartphone, to grab attention, then ask for payment information again or send a malicious link. They may also try to lure consumers in by promising a freebie or using language that creates a false sense of urgency.
Amazon is trying “to ensure that scammers don’t use our brand to take advantage of people who trust us,” Knapp wrote, adding that customers can confirm their purchases and verify messages from the company on its app or website.
More scams are likely on the way, but it’s hard to know what form they might take until Prime Day begins this year. Still, experts note that the same shopping scams tend to resurface year after year.
“Overall, the basics remain the same,” Planos said, citing fake delivery scams, email phishing and other repeated methods. “It’s still a ploy to deprive consumers of their personal and payment information.”
But online hoaxes are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated, Planos and others warn. That means images can look more legitimate, text messages more convincing and fake websites that look a lot like real shopping destinations.
Amazon’s Knapp said that with artificial intelligence “are beginning to creep in,” scams targeting e-commerce buyers follow the same approach but with a machine filling out an email or text message instead of a person.
Consumers reported losing about $10 billion to fraud in 2023, a 14% increase from 2022, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission. Online shopping scams were the second most reported form of fraud, after imposter scams, the FTC said.
The FTC and the Better Business Bureau provide consumers with advice to avoid scams all year long. Tips include blocking spam messages, not giving financial information to unsolicited callers and checking links before clicking. Secure websites, for example, will have “HTTPS” in the URL, Planos notes, never “HTTP.”
Scammers will often pressure you to act immediately, experts say. It’s important to pause and trust your instincts. Experts also urge consumers to report scams to regulators.
Beyond scams that impersonate businesses or retailers, it’s also important to be wary of counterfeit products and fake reviews on trusted retailer sites. Just because you shop on Amazon, for example, doesn’t mean you’re buying from Amazon. online shopping giantlike eBay, Walmart and others, has extensive third-party marketplaces.
The quality and appearance of counterfeit products The number of counterfeit product sales has increased dramatically in recent years, Planos notes, making the activity difficult to police. A good rule of thumb is to look at the price tag: If the product is selling for less than 75 percent of its annual market price, “that’s a pretty big red flag,” he says.
Questionable sellers can appear on various platforms, including sites like Amazon, “all the time,” Planos said, urging consumers to check out the companies on the Better Business Bureau website. websiteLike other scams, counterfeit products can increase during periods of high spending.
Amid growing pressure to crack down on counterfeit goods, Amazon said it has gotten rid of millions of counterfeit products in recent years. The company also said it has blocked billions of bad listings on its site. In 2023, Amazon said it “identified, seized and appropriately disposed of” more than 7 million counterfeit items. The online retailer has also filed several lawsuits Legal action against fake review brokers.
Amazon notes that customers can also report fake reviews and other scams on its websiteIf a buyer purchases a counterfeit item detected by the company, Amazon said it will “proactively contact” the customer and provide a refund.