Police have issued a warning to people shopping on Amazon Prime Day, as criminals look to cash in on the retail event.
With thousands of people making orders all at once, fraudsters have spotted an opportunity - and responded with new scams to trick people out of their money.
Two of the key ones are based around Prime Day "order cancellations" and "returns" - pointing people to a fake website to steal your details and cash rather than the official Amazon one.
Cleveland Police tweeted: "On the final day of Prime Day, colleagues at @nerccu are warning of an Amazon phishing campaign.
"The phishing campaign impersonates Amazon with 'returns' and "order cancellations' in relation to Prime Day.
"If you have been impacted by this, please report to @actionfrauduk "
The North East Regional Cyber Crime Unit warned: "Security researchers from Bolster have observed a recent spike in phishing campaigns ahead of the upcoming Prime Day retail event on 13-14 October.
"The sophisticated campaigns attempt to leverage both Amazon features and consumer behaviours to lure victims to fraudulent webpages that harvest financial information, credentials and other sensitive data.
"One new campaign targets 'returns' and 'order cancellations' related to Prime Day orders using a fraudulent site, www.amazoncustomersupport[.]net, that impersonates a legitimate Amazon site."
Consumers have been reminded to follow the Take Five to Stop Fraud advice and remember that criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police.
It's three key messages are:
- Stop : Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
- Challenge : Could it be fake? It’s OK to reject, refuse, or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
- Protect : Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.
