How to spot scams, fake listings on Amazon Prime Day 2024
Team 12 Investigates found the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received about 34,000 reports of scammers impersonating Amazon in 2023, with consumers reportedly losing $19 million.
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One of the biggest shopping events of the year begins next week. Amazon Prime Day takes place on July 16 and will be ripe with deeply discounted items.
Whether it’s a 65% price cut, or hundreds of dollars off Smart TVs, Prime members will have a chance to snag a good deal. It also provides an opportunity for scammers to dupe unsuspecting consumers.
“Imagine you get an email and you see a great deal, or a pop-up gets in front of you, and you click on it,” said Scott Schober, CEO of Berkeley Varitronics Systems. “It does a redirect to what you think is an Amazon store, but it’s actually a different domain.”
Team 12 Investigates found the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received about 34,000 reports of scammers impersonating Amazon in 2023, with consumers reportedly losing $19 million.
“What they’re trying to get is your personal information, especially your credit card information or your address,” Schober said. “Often times, they’re going to try to fulfill an order and send you a box full of bricks.”
Scammers target consumers by phone, email and text messages. Some may even use artificial intelligence to generate fake reviews on fake listings. Spot counterfeit products by looking at the number of reviews and the time they were posted.
“If products similar in that category have 100 reviews, and now you go to this particular one that’s on sale and you see it’s got 25,000 reviews, something is wrong,” explained Schober.
After Amazon Prime Day, be aware of package tracking scams. Criminals will try to send victims a link via text message or email about their delivery. Cybersecurity experts warn not to click on any of these links and instead track your package directly from your Prime account.
