Don’t Fall For This Amazon Scam – Here’s What Happened to Me!
Amazon scams are definitely on the rise.
As unemployment numbers soared over the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic, it seems that phone and online scams have also been on the rise including identity theft, virtual credit card skimming, and more. According to the FTC, Americans have lost over $382 million to fraud linked to COVID-19 since last year when the pandemic started. in addition to the millions of dollars that are scammed every day related to online shopping, credit cards, and phony IRS bills.
Y’all might want to grab a cup of coffee ☕️ and maybe even a snack 🍿 because my story is going to be kind of long, but I think it’s important to know these Amazon scams are out there.
Here’s how I dealt with an Amazon imposter:
I received an email that appeared to be legit at first glance, but it wasn’t… it was in fact a total scam. I thought I’d share my experience with you and give a few tips on what to look for in order to keep your information safe and to avoid being scammed.
I received an email “from Amazon” that stated a Sony PlayStation had been shipped to an address in California. Oddly enough, I knew the exact area as I used to live in a neighboring city. My first thought was, “oh man, someone has hacked my Amazon account and I should call.” Luckily this “official” email had all of the information I needed in order to take care of it. 🙄
🚫Red Flag #1: At a closer glance, I noticed that the email originated from a Gmail account instead of from @Amazon.com.
Amazon order emails typically come from <auto-confirm@amazon.com>, and definitely NOT a Gmail account!
🚫Red Flag #2: “If you did not place this order” is never in the verbiage that Amazon uses when sending out shipment notifications.
This has never shown up on ANY of my previous Amazon order details… something seemed very off about this!
🚫Red Flag #3: Oh look! There’s a handy dandy phone number for me to call about my fraudulent order.
Wait a minute, Amazon will never mention in their emails that you should call them if you didn’t place an order. There isn’t even a phone number included in the emails that they send. I think I’ve called them maybe once in the 20+ years I’ve been a customer (and it took forever to find the number to call). This is a definite way to be able to tell if it’s an Amazon scam.
In fact, Amazon doesn’t want you to call, it’s much easier (and faster) for them to handle your issues via their online customer support chat.
🚫Red Flag #4: Currently, Amazon emails do not include the full address in the shipment confirmation email, only the city, and state.
The fraudulent email has the entire address right there so that the recipient will see it and instantly think OMG I didn’t place that order, leading you to possibly call their fraudulent hotline. Total Amazon scam.
🚫Red Flag #5: Weird formatting.
As you can see from my screencap, Amazon shipment emails are currently formatted with this box set up with concise information about your purchase. The fraudulent email contains just way too much information. They want you to react based on the email alone and NOT go to your Amazon account.
I shop on Amazon almost every day (so much so that I may need an intervention), so from the look of the fraud email it seems they have mimicked the cart page from Amazon and not the shipment email, nice try scammers.
So what did I do knowing this was an Amazon scam?
I like to get to the bottom of things and these scammers make me so angry, so I decided to call their “Amazon Hotline”. When my call was finally answered, it was a computer-sounding voice.
After pressing 1 to speak to someone, the phone rang several times. I imagined a random dude on the other end, sitting there in a tank top and boxers eating Funyuns and drinking a PBR waiting for someone to call.
Finally, a guy answered and even threw in the pleasantries of asking me how I was doing and thanking me for being a valued Amazon shopper for two years. Hold up, I haven’t given you any information, my caller ID is blocked but you know how many years I’ve been shopping? Nice try pal, I’ve been with Amazon for decades, but whatever. 🙄
He then asked me for my order number and I replied with 123456-7892020, asked my name and I told him Julia Roberts (go big or go home, right?!). He asked for my email and I replied with fauxreal@amazon.com. He clearly could not have cared what I said, because even with the fake email, fake name, and fake order number, he was magically able to pull up “my” PlayStation order.
He then said, “your order is due to arrive by Friday, did you place this order or was this someone else making a fraudulent purchase with your account?” Wow, I’m not sure I’ve ever been asked that by any customer service rep I’ve ever spoken with from any company.
I played along and said, “OMG I did not place that order! Please cancel it, whatever shall I do?” My sarcasm was clearly lost on “Pete from Amazon”. Luckily “Pete” was super helpful and gave me the name of a website (not Amazon) that I need to go to and enter my payment information to update it.
Sadly, he told me that my Amazon account would need to be locked for two days while they investigate. But don’t worry, once we have your updated payment information we can start the process to reinstate your account. Listen here “Pete”, I need access to my account pronto, I don’t wanna miss any great Amazon deals, so I’m gonna need to be able to place orders today.
“Pete” was also so helpful and was going to give me information on how to change my Amazon password – but on a different portal than Amazon. Man, the help never ends with this guy, shout out to “Amazon” for hiring such a stellar employee! I was trying to keep him on the phone as long as I could because I knew every minute I had him distracted was another minute someone else might not be scammed. I was working so I just kept typing away while he carried on with wanting me to give him info.
After a while, I had enough and I informed “Pete” that I knew he was a scammer and he needed to stop. He acted heartbroken that I would think that and kept asking me “what do you mean a scam?”.
In my best I need to speak to the manager voice, I gave “Pete” a few choice (but clean) words and told him to stop scamming people. Sadly, “Pete” hung up on me. Dang, maybe I should call Jake from State Farm so I’ll have someone to talk to. 😀
On further research, it seems that the same phone number has also been tied to a social security scam, the website I found even had the audio sample from the phone call. I’ve gotten those before and played along, giving fake numbers, and even kept one on the phone for over an hour while I was working. He assured me that I was going to jail if I didn’t comply with his instructions. 🤣🙄
Oddly enough, as I was writing this post, I received a phone call from “Pete from Amazon”, he even gave me his (faux) Amazon employee ID. He wanted to call and follow up on my call yesterday and find out if I’m ok and if I still need the information on how to change my payment information. Nah man, I’m good, you’re a scammer. Once again I broke his heart and he hung up on me. I’m guessing blocking my caller ID didn’t work.
So friends, please be extra vigilant when you suspect an email or phone call is one of these scammers.
Also, speak with senior citizens that are friends or family about these type of scams. Many times they prey on older people who may not know that it is a scam. A friend of mine was recently telling me how her elderly mother-in-law was scammed out of $1500 in gift cards and the hacker even gained control of her computer remotely. 🙁
Here are a few ways to protect yourself from online/phone scams:
- Slow down. It’s natural to panic when you receive a phone call or email that leads you to believe your information has been compromised. Give yourself a little time to do your research and to check your account to see if unauthorized purchases have been made.
- Don’t respond to texts, emails, or calls about checks from the government.
- Hang up on robocalls. Scammers are using illegal robocalls to pitch everything from low-priced health insurance to work-at-home schemes.
- Check the official FTC website and read through some of the current imposter scams and educate yourself on what to look for.
- When in doubt ask friends online. I’ve seen many people ask about weird calls or emails via posting on Facebook. You’ll quickly find that many of your friends have possibly received the same email as well.
- Pay it forward by reporting scams. One helpful reader mentioned forwarding any suspicious emails to the Amazon fraud department at stop-spoofing@amazon.com and spoof@paypal.com for PayPal fakes.
Stay safe friends!
These are crazy times we are living in, I hope that this information was helpful and will possibly prevent you from being a victim of an Amazon scam.
Stay informed! Check out the latest information on data breaches, recalls, product launches, store closures, and more!
It is several years since I ordered from Amazon but I placed a small order and charged it on my credit card. The order went through and the pending charge appeared on the credit card account page. The next day I received an email from “amazon” to say the charge had been declined and I needed to update my info. The credit card website showed the charge had gone through. So I too am wondering if there is someone on the inside as the timing was just right. Obviously a fishing attempt.
Yes I had just placed an order for a book. Then I got the email about the washer and dryer. Hum
We placed an order a few years ago. It was from a third party person on Amazon. We use virtual account numbers through Citibank and Discover. They can only be set to use on line for a set amount and a set time period. However, the third party came back and tried to charge an astronomical amount on our charge card. Thankfully we were protected, but the possibility is there. Please alert Amazon to all these happenings.
My first purchase ever on Amazon was a month ago. Today my unrelated TD Bank account was debited almost 500. dollars as an “Amazaon” debit. There’s no connection whatsoever between the two accounts. I pay with my Royal Bank CC and would never cross contaminate my pension deposit bank accounts. Even my emails are separate. Figuring this out is going to be interesting, .for the bank.
Thanks so much!! Great info. I got an email saying someone in Moscow Idaho ordered a washer and dryer. I did panic. But had time to calm down and found your page. Makes me feel better. My sister last year got scammed. They are supposed to call back. I will ignore it.
So glad it was helpful and you didn’t fall for the scam Leslie!
Please don’t be tempted to click on or go to these fake websites. Hopefully, all the one that the poster visited did was ask for payment information. Many of them are malicious and will attempt to infect your PC – in some cases, with “fileless” malware that is undetectable by traditional antivirus. I also don’t recommend that you try to “catch” the scammers, lecture them or otherwises provoke them. I know of at least 1 person where they did and the scammers made their lives a living hell. I’ve been in information security for over 20 years and I always tell our employees “curiosity killed the cat”. I know it’s tempting, but just don’t do it.
My daughter got a call a few years ago and fell for it. They said she owed money for her internet schooling and that she needed to pay for it immediate and threatened her that she gave her bank account number and they completely wiped it out. Then a few weeks later tried to do the same but this time she didn’t fall for it. Sad thing is there is no way she can get her money back.
The bank will give you the money back for unauthorized charges/withdrawals. I wasnāt scammed, but someone got into my account for thousands of dollars. Bank replaced it. You likely have to report in 30 days. And it was a ton of paperwork and red tape. But I would have never stopped trying.
Sometimes the bank will not refund the money. If you authorized the withdrawal, even if you were misled, they may choose not to refund the money.
A few years back, I too had a run in with someone who presented himself as an Amazon employee! I had looked up on Google to find an Amazon phone number and received, not one but two numbers to call! I was calling about an $80 refund that I had coming back! I called the first number and got a guy that had an Arabic accent, he kept directing me to a different web site where you pay and/or receive cash! He had me all over and texting me from his own phone! My phone wasn’t working well so I hug up! I called back a few days later and I think it was the same guy! He walked me thru step by step to get me to the app he wanted me to go to! Once I was there he told me to type in this code ‘202’ but it was in the spot where you’d put in an amount of money! I told him that if I did that, I’d be sending money, he said, no, and if it does that he’d send it back! I’m thinking, I called him at Amazon, this has to be legit! So I put it in and I believe he sent it back and then told me to put it in again! At that point, I just hung up on him and called the other number! I got Amazon this time. She assured me that I had not been talking to anyone at Amazon, she said they would NEVER ask a customer to open a personal phone to message them! She sent some things to my email account confirming everything that I had told her vise versa! I went back and screenshot the whole conversation that I’d had with this and took it all in to my bank! They definitely agreed that I’d been scammed and my money was back in my account by the next day! Before I left the bank, they also had his real name! So if this ever happens to you, make sure to screenshot everything you can for safe keeping!
Itās hard to keep up with the scams because we lead such busy lives, itās easy to try to take care of something quickly and fall for it. My sister came close. Luckily, she had given me her credit card because she wanted me to buy my kids a couple back to school outfits last year. She called me saying she needed the security code off the back because she got an email saying her card was breeched. She was about to call using the number on the email and I told her use the phone number on the card to call them directly. Turns out, there was no breech, the scammer hoping she would reply to that number and give her info up. Even if they get the name of your bank right…. if itās a big name like Bank of America, they just send out emails to many people knowing the odds of someone having a Bank of America or Citibank card is high.
I had Jeff Patel, a true pro supposedly from Sacramento, same sort of scam. I got the same type of email, only mine was a $5,300 computer and a $300 Xbox, being shipped to Alabama. I didn’t call the number on the message, I called a Googled Amazon number. My “buddy” Jeff answered (I’m now trying to think if this was just luck that I got Jeff, does he work on the inside, or did he somehow place a number on Google that intercepted my call? I also can’t remember if a recording picked up with the usual menu.)
I told my story, asked if I could send the email to him, he said it would be easier to go into my computer to see if we could catch the f$%#ers.
I’ve had verizon and others do this, so it didn’t send up the red flag it should have. š
He said he had all the info from the message, but in order to catch the scammers, we needed to place an order of 3 $100 Xbox gift cards and get the codes. RED FLAG!
I lied and said I didn’t have that much to spend. But Jeff was good. He reminded me we were on a recorded line, he was for real. I remembered that I had called HIM, so he was grooming me and making me feel SAFE. He also assured me the money would be back in my account within an hour. š I know, writing this now, I can’t believe I fell for him, but as I said, he was very good. When I first called him, we had a wonky connection that we’ve all dealt with during this time of Zoom. He called me back and it was much easier to hear.
So, I ordered one $100 gift card on Amazon and we waited for the confirmation to show up in my email, it never did. He said because he had blocked the account it wouldn’t go through. I would have to go to the store and get the gift cards there. I know…š
I went to my local Stop & Shop, got the cards, but the employees refused to sell them to me. They all said it was a scam. And the more that they tried to convince me, the more I realized they were right.
So Jeff called to see how the store trip went, and all I said was my power was out (it really was!) and I couldn’t deal with this now, I’d take care of it the next day.
I would have given him holy hell if he had called the next day, but he never called. I gave Amazon Security all the info I had, and agreed to forward the initial message to them, but it’s been deleted. I had given them all the info anyway, they just didn’t have the copy of the message.
All I can say is I’m so grateful for those store employees, and the real folks at Amazon who helped me out.
Be Vigilant!!!
Did he get into your computer and if so how did u deal with that? It just happened to me and Iām freaking out! I feel like such an idiot!!!
“Jeff Patel” is obviously a “closer”. The Jamaican posse got real smart: they use ladies and Americans to source likely subjects, and then the “closer” moves in with his skillset. Most scammers are not in the country, so even if you source them you’ll never find them, nor will any police dept. and they’re getting better and better at ripping people off. I’d “suggest” that jeff should move, because someone in the future is going to be in Sacramento, and be very unhappy.
Nancy, always think to save any kind of material by at least getting a screenshot of it, that’s what saved me! I just knew if I didn’t save it that he’d delete it! Gigi
I received a call from ‘Amazon Fraud’ this morning, I missed the call so called back as it was a land line not a mobile. The dial code is for Swansea, UK. A chap with a thick Indian accent answered and asked if I had purchased an I-phone for Ā£350 to be delivered to an address in New Mexico, USA. He wanted me to put my phone on speaker and log into my Amazon account. I said I cannot access the internet / Amazon while at work in A&E and requested that he calls me back after 18:30. He was quite insistent that we sort the problem now but I held my ground and said he can just cancel the order as I have not made it and I will speak to him after I finish my shift.
He thanked me for my hard work and dedication to the health service. I’m pretty sure he won’t be calling me back at 18:30 tonight
Same thing happened to me yesterday. They were so smooth they got m to download quick support and took over my computer showed me a
screen with how many people were trying to access my account then wanted my bank numbers so the could refund a false charge. but could only send it to my Morgan Stanley account I caught on it was a scam. They even set up real protection at Amazon at frist thats why the convinced me they were from Amazon
Covid 19 = HACKERS
I received an email from Amazon for a extremely large purchase I didn’t make. Everything looked legal, I panicked. Call the fraud number. Had I not started panicking, I would have seen the red flags immediately. I felt so stupid. Downloaded the support software then immediately realized what happened
Immediately Uninstaller. Call real Amazon support. Changed passwords. Shut done internet. Smooth dudes. All this
I got my call from a company who stated they are hired by Amazon for fraud protection. Told me someone in Ohio charged a $125 gift card to my accounnt. He spoke broken English and when I started asking quetions, he switched me to his “manager” Apparently he wasn’t happy that I wouldn’t give him any info and hung up on me. Don’t fall for these jerks!
I started getting emails the end of July into the beginning of August saying my order was on its way
Since I hadnāt ordered anything ( since Dec 2019) I just disregarded it –
To make a long story shorter – that was just the start of items being delivered to my door that I NEVER ordered – the first 2 items I returned ( because there was a return address on the package )
Then I decided to google the issue – a light bulb moment !
So since none of my banking information was involved – I decided to keep the next item shipped to my door, In hopes that it was something useful !
Itās now October and finally the āfree giftsā have stopped coming !
I decided to JUST IGNORE ALL the emails regarding shipments – reviews of the products and the faux threat that my account is in jeopardy and that my account has been disputed and my Bank has demanded payment from them ! ( chargeback alert )
I refuse to update my payment information or respond to anything
Therefore everything has STOPPED!
Whew !
You have me hooked. What “free gifts” did you keep?
Fantastic article…so well-written…so awesome!! The author, a Hip2Save Staff Writer named “Angela” nailed it. She took the time to create screen captures and explain her methods of dealing with the problem…all with a sense of humor. Savvy and funny…great combo. Two thumbs up for this author and her piece on email scams. And thank you.
I just got a call from Amazon telling me that an item that I had purchased in the amount of over $1000 was going to be charged to my account and if I did not make this purchase, I should push 1 on the phone. I did so and a man with a thick India accent responded. He asked for my name and I gave it to him. He even told me my middle initial which I had not told him. Then he told me my address which I had not given him. He then asked me for the name of my bank. I told him that Amazon did not have my bank account number so there was no need for him to know what the name of my bank was. He told me this was the only way that they could reimburse my debit card. I told him I did not have a debit card. He insisted I did not understand what he was saying and he needed the name of my bank. I repeated that Amazon did not have a debit card in my name and that I was not going to give him the name of my bank. He promptly hung up on me. These are truly sick people!
Look. Very nearly everyone has received emails and calls that are totally bogus. But now that we’re stuck at home have a bit of fun by scamming a scammer. Very recently a got a call from Amazon “customer service” but I saw immediately he was using a personal cellphone number. Every month I backup my computer systems because I’ve built every computer I’ve ever owned and am a computer near expert I new I could recover my system in less than 1 hour so I let give it a “go” and installed every spyware he told me to. Over the course of 3 hours I pretended to be an amiable idiot. Long story short blah, blah blah he put $2000 into my checking account and told me to drive to the nearest Target and purchase 3 $500 Target gift cards. I watched my computer screen as it dissolved into mush and after 30 minutes called him back and told him I was in the Target parking lot about to go in to buy those 3 gift cards. 10 minutes later I called him back and said “Okay now what”? He said tomorrow morning someone will call me with an Amazon ID and I was to give the person the Gift Cards. About 3 hours later that same night I called him back and let him have it. I was stringing him along, “Good luck getting that $200 back”. Don’t try this unless you 1) have an in depth knowledge of computer devices and 2) Have a friend at your bank. (As expected the funds were removed from my bank account – Better to use a friendly local bank or Credit Union for your online banking.
I just gotten an scam call from Amazon saying an recent order of an iPhone 11 was ordered for $780.00 was made on an credit card and wanted to confirm this order but I did hang up before pushing the 1 button to talk to an rep representative since I knew this an scam because the real Amazon will never call you
I just wasted there time for over 1.5 hours felt great
If you have older parents, please call them up from time to time, and ask them if people have been trying to do these kinds of things. They’re from a more honest generation and don’t expect people to be flat out lying. My parents have fallen for this more than once by talking to these people, emailing them, giving out their names and contact info, ages. There’s a “leg brace” scam out there by the way. My mom told them her age, answered a “health questionnaire” and gave out all sorts of HIPPA protected health info, thankfully I was standing nearby and I noticed they were getting pushier and pushier for my mother to give out more information. I got on the phone and asked them to state their business. The man became indignant and stated curtly in a thick accent that he was from “medical department” and gave some ultimatum that I can’t recall, but the point was, that there’d be some negative consequences for mom not answering all their questions. But when I pretty much called them on their sh** by asking what does this have to do with a leg brace, since it’s supposed to be free, he made a few more vague threats but hung up. I came to this website because my dad was in the process of emailing and calling someone from “amazon” because of some fake order, but I wanted him to hold up because even though the email had the right logo, the reply email address had amazon spelled as “amzom”. I suspected what the gentleman above is saying, that they can infect your computer with malware, if you even Mopen and respond to such emails. A person thinks that by contacting these scammers, they are addressing the problem head on and straight forward, but you’re actually falling for their bait. So if you have honest, good natured, unsuspecting parents like mine, check up on them sometimes and make sure these scumbags aren’t getting over on them.
wow this is so crazy….this is the total same scam i got today….to the t. but they directed me to a gsupport.me site. he started instructing me to type in code….that was it i got spooked and thought it would crash my computer. thing is i knew when phone call came in it was fake because it was a local number…classic smurfing…so i answer to mess with these fools- but i today read from cpb that answering actually notifies the scammers the number is good and they then can sell the phone number for more money…so i guess the fun is over now…..
There are some great YT channels that focus on “Scambaiting”. They engage with the scammers to waste their time and sometimes they get authorities involved to shut the scammers down. Sometimes the scammers rage quit which can be hilarious. The scambaiters use different voices and personalities to fool the scammers . Check out these channels for the scambaiting lolz:
Scammer Payback
Jim Browning
Kitboga
Atomic Shrimp
Thanks for the valuable information. I received one of these scam Amazon emails today. I knew it was a scam but since it had no link to a fake Amazon site, I knew it was not an ordinary pfishing scheme and was curious as to how the catch worked. I suspected the 888 toll free telephone number was really one of those offshore telephone companies that charge the caller outrageous per minute rates while the boiler room phony employee keeps you on line as long as possible. So I certainly did not want to call the number. You took that risk for me. Thanks.
I got the same scam e-mail, a couple days ago….it scared me that $1,000 was charged to me for something i did not order. i called that number…(should have known better) conversation was short. all thy wanted to know was that e-mail’s order number….which i gave…….then boom…they hung up……now, i’m worried that got them in my computer for possible ID fraud….or robbing my accounts? i double checked my credit card, nothing was charged. Called up the real Amazon…which i should have done in the 1st place…nothing ordered
this post was both funny and super important – your writing style and research are spot on – i hope this article helps many – gold star today for this awesome content – happy holidays
Aww thank you Mary! ā¤ļøHappy holidays to you too!
Discuss these scams with older relatives. My husband’s grandmother who has PHD and in my opinion is pretty sharp..fell for an amazon scam. They got ALL her information. They prey on fear. It’s ridiculous.
I got a similar one from Macyās. It said my order was cancelled because the form of payment was not accepted. Only thing is, 2 of the 3 items had already arrived. Be careful folks, they are using all means to scam this holiday season!
I also keep getting Amazon fraud emails I always forward the emails to Amazon fraud department.
That is hilarious that Pete kept Julia Roberts on the phone. Once I start giving spammers ridiculously fake info, they usually hang up on me!
He didn’t even seem phased at all and he has since called me a few other times pretending to be the IRS and Social Security. New name, same guy!
I swear these scammers donāt give up and will resort to anything. As if I donāt get enough faxes/emails with stupid stuff about trust funds. I get an email this week for someone wanting to buy firewood in an email. I havenāt figured out how they got our email address but I knew right off it was a scam. The emailer states that they were wanting to purchase firewood for their son and that a check or money order would be in the mail this week. They didnāt state how many cords of wood they wanted, what county they live in, who was going to pick it up or will they want it delivered and when did they want to schedule the pick up or delivery. What got me was that the check or money order was coming in the mail. We do sell firewood in the winter and advertise in the local paper. I only add our phone number in our add and if a customer wants to pick up I give them the address. I submitted a copy of it to the proper authorities so that if they hadnāt encountered this one yet they have another scam to add to the list. I also messaged my bossās friends/associates with businesses just so that they arenāt caught off guard and get caught up in some mess. Stay safe everyone and keep enforcing to family/friends how important it is to not give out any information over the phone/email/text until you are absolutely sure you are dealing with a legitimate company and person representing the company. Always call the supposedly source/business when in doubt.
I had the same thing happen to me, but the same it was a message from Paypal. When clicking on the link it was clearly not paypal. It said “payqal.com. So, pay close attention to the websites you’re being directed to. Besides my computer caught on and said “danger” ! They make them look like the real ones with slight differences.
Thank you very much for this great helpful post Hip2Save Team. Have a blessed and wonderful day!!
Whoa!!! Thanks for letting us know!!!
Just be careful because some companies DO call. My husband worked as a credit fraud specialist with Best Buy. They mostly called the actual scammers, but if they could they would call the people with the actual account. Never to ask for money though! They would simply notify the real person of the fraud being caught and cancelled. The sad part was that the majority of fraud was from family members taking advantage of them.
I received a phone call from Amazon asking if I made a purchase, which I didn’t. I knew quickly it was a scam and told the caller on the other end that I knew this was a scam and then hung up. All these years I’ve been with Amazon and not one time have I ever really gotten a call from them. That was my first red flag.
I put them on speaker, pretend like I’m a little old lady (think the wonderful Robin Williams in “Mrs. Doubtfire”) and am all in with their spiel, (I’m wailing and crying about the “man” who has infiltrated my computer and they need to get him off of it) but NEVER give them pertinent information. Instead, I ask silly questions, such as “Do you have a mustache?” and if they say yes, I go off the rails on how much I love a man with a mustache, etc. Oftentimes, I can hear them put ME on speaker so others can listen in. My kiddos have a ball listening, and the scammers are usually cracking up at my improvisational performance. Then I switch to my southern drawl and shame them and listen to them sputter before I hang up. Main thing is DO NOT give out any information, DO NOT let them access your computer, and DO NOT be in a hurry, if there did so happen to be a legitimate issue, everything will and does get sorted out. Why do I mess with them? Because they deserve it and life’s better when it’s funny.
Thank you Hip2Save for all you do and Merry Christmas, everyone!
I do the same when I get calls at work that I know or legit trying to scam. I go from a woman to a mans voice, I ask them lots of dumb questions like have they made dirt cakes lately/ do they know how to thread a needle can they bring me a box of sanitary pads lol, could they give me their debit info so I can order pizzas. I keep them busy with being silly and keeps them from bothering others. Sometimes they get really frustrated with me talk trash and curse me out which is funny cause I want to do the same to them but they best me to it.. so it worked out perfectly lol
Michelle…Thatās awesome! Too funnyš Iāve done something similar and although it may not be the smart thing to do, it just feels good to waste their time. Iām laughing inside to myself the whole time! Then I say, āGuess what scammer? Youāve just been scammed!ā
I wonāt repeat what they say next! LOL!!
My husband is always messing with these people! They usually get very angry and hang up. I love to hear that other people do that too!
I get emails, texts and phone calls like these all the time. I am very suspicious about all of them. If you really want to make sure nothing funky is going on with your account call the company directly with a good number for them and ask. I have done this several times and it is always bogus. If the scam comes as an email the company lots of times has me forward it to their fraud department. These scams can also come looking like they are coming from one of your utility companies. Be suspicious and check them out but not through the means in which it is sent.
A local doctor has his mother as his office manager for his large practice. She got scammed into giving employee social security numbers which resulted in fraudulent tax returns being submitted. Took over a year to get it straightened out and included visits from the FBI. I get the Amazon emails all the time too and immediately check the sender’s email. So many rip offs these days! Thanks for posting this reminder.
I haven’t received any emails lately, but I do get text messages saying I won a contest, or I was approved for an $4000 loan… I never click on the link and always block the number and delete the message.
I got this email as well. Mine was a MacBook Pro going to Texas. š¤¦š¼āāļø. Screenshot just in case. Then delete. š¤Æ
I receive the kids of emails all the time. I’ve learned to always check the originating email. Many times they come to my other email which is not linked to my account. My husband even calls me to tell me our credit card was denied. but I have to remind him, his email is not associated with our amazon account. I always go directly to my “orders” to see if indeed they need an updated credit card. 9 times out of 10 it’s a scam. They sure are persistent.
I got one of these also and went on the Amazon site and called their phone #. They told me it was fake and a scam and to delete it but I took a screenshot of it and sent it to their security email. Sorry this happened to you.
I was very lucky t get a phone call, Advising me that I charged $125 on my Amazon card to buy a gift card. Then the man told me to download an app. I was very fortunate that I didnāt remember my passcode LOL I told him I was gonna call Amazon customer service. With that he replied I am Amazon customer service and called me a name rhymes with witch then hung up. I then called Amazon and told them what was going on.
Had a similar thing happen to me just two days ago. Supposedly Iād ordered an iPad Pro for over $1500 to be delivered next week. My original reaction was to call the number given and deny the purchase but then decided to look at the Amazon app for my orders. You guessed it. No new orders. Iām a senior but was smart enough not to fall for that scam. It was scary that they had my name and address. Some people are scum.
I just got a notice from my son’s school that fake contract tracers are asking for children’s social security numbers and opening account under them.
I’ve received robo calls saying a ridiculous large amount of money was charged to my account š ugh nope. So I didn’t fall for it but it is very worrisome
I received two phone calls about a play station purchased on my Amazon account just yesterday. Funny thing is, I always delete the payment info after I place an order for this very reason. I donāt want to get hacked.
Thank you for sharing!
This has happened to me with PayPal and Apple as well. But I always look at the full email address and this is how I tell itās a phishing email
If you ever get something like that, that seems fishy. Go on amazon (or whatever site) directly and talk to customer service. Scammers are hoping you panic and start clicking.
If someone calls you respond with “thank you, I will hang up and call customer service directly”. And then go to the official website for the number. If its a real issue they won’t have a problem with this.
Getting scammed sucks, but staying calm helps you notice the red flags. Strangely enough my credit card was great about this when I got my account hacked, they said “please hang up and call the number on the back of your card so you know that this is an actual issue”. Its what I have done ever since.
I recently bought something off a Facebook ad and it ended up to be a scam! š Paid $30 and they sent me a $1 item… of course they had the tracking saying the item was delivered and they were real jerks… thank goodness PayPal sided with me and I got my money back! Sadly, this is the second time Iāve been scammed by Facebook purchases so Iām definitely done buying anything advertised on there! š
I love Pay Pal. I was recently scammed and Pay Pal sided with me. My bank was worthless.
Iāve been scammed twice, both by fake websites. PayPal hasnāt been too helpful, though. The first one I let my daughter order a couple of āHydroflasks.ā I looked at the website quickly and it looked legit, so we went ahead with it. I then got a message from PayPal saying that I sent a payment to China and realized I made a mistake. PayPal wanted me to talk to the company first so I tried to cancel the order with the company. They sent the cups to me anyway, from CA. But, PayPal required me to ship them back to their āconfirmed addressā in China. Eventually I got a refund, but I was still out quite a bit due to international shipping, even though PayPal refunded part of that. Of course not all of it. Then, a few weeks ago, I found a piece of furniture that I had been eyeing at a great price on what seemed to be a real website called Paticos.com. I realized something was off this time when I saw that I had actually paid someone named Hao Le instead of Paticos.com. Plus, I didnāt receive any type of confirmation email. I did a google search and found other people who said it was a scam. I opened a case with PayPal and they denied it, so I guess Iām out $119. Itās quite frustrating!
I also have a story to tell lol. I was trying to gift my hubby a Breville coffee machine. So I searched Black Friday deals on breville machine. Yes, this happened around Black Friday this year lol. So I found quite a few deals so I clicked on one. It sent me to a website called Woodmart. The website looks very professional and very fancy. I looked through their machines so I decided to purchase one. I was very happy that I had found a coffee machine for my husband. When I purchased it everything seemed normal, I got an order number and I even received an email. The moment I noticed something was fishy was when I noticed my pay pal account. They sent me an email of course like they always send when I purchase something. I then notice that the store Woodmart was never mentioned as a seller, instead it was called MULTIMEDIA (very well known scammers!) and the email for that account was under a persons name! I then realized this was a scam. I go back to the website and couldnāt find it under Woodmart! So I traced back my steps and searched the website the way I had originally found it by googling it. It was actually under blackfriday .com I was so upset by now because I knew my hard earned money was now gone. I go back to the website and try to contact and guess what?! The Contact Us did not work when youād click. No way of me contacting them and the email they sent had no way of me sending back an email because their email did not exist! BUT I was not done with this. Instantly I called my bank which Wells Fargo did nothing! Iām about to look into a new bank. I called PayPal and gave them every detail. They said they contact me within a couple days. I ALSO reported these scammers on FTC.gov I gave them every single detail about these scammers and info… email… etc. Pay Pal came through and within 3 days they realized the site was indeed a scam and Pay PAL refunded me all of my money. I was so happy! Pay Pal is the best! Iām so happy I make all my purchases through them. PLEASE guys pay closer attention to websites as well. Iāve always been very careful where I buy things as Iām a constant online shopper but this time it was obvious I needed to pay extra attention and I didnāt. Never again will I let this happen again. Iām never buying from a unknown website unless I hear itās legit from someone I trust.
Funny but I have to laugh at the ones that say my account has been locked. I think to myself āOh I sure hope so, then maybe Iāll stop getting packages every single day….ā
I pretty much assume most emails are scam unless itās something I know for a fact that I entered or ordered. I always check the return email address. Best tip is donāt click through any emails. My favorite scam email lately is that my PayPal is locked. Tragic. š I worry about people like my mom though who barely know how to use the Internet. She may fall for these scams. Hopefully I have warned her enough about not clicking through them.