GREENSBORO, N.C. — Amazon Prime Day is July 12 & 13, 2022. While sales are the big draw for you, cyber security folks call this ‘Amazon Crime Day’ because the sales are a big draw for hackers trying to trick you.
“They're trying to fool you, they're trying to get you to click on their links, it's increasing faster than gas prices,” said Pete Nicoletti of Check Point.
Check Point's research shows daily Amazon-related phishing attacks were up 37% in the first week of July compared to the daily average in June.
2 Wants To Know got one of these phishing attempts. The text claims there was unusual activity on the account, someone else tried to log in as you, and of course, to fix it, you need to click the link.
This is what the security expert was talking about.
It could be this text or an email claiming your recent order has been canceled. Your invoice is a link or to get the item back you click a link, either way, they want you to click a link.
“Don't click on those links, go right to the source, your Amazon account. Go to who you have the relationship with and validate it,” said Nicoletti.
Don't let Prime Day turn into Crime Day for you. Never, ever click the link, and always, always go to your Amazon account directly and do your business, check your order status from there.
“Scammers that attempt to impersonate Amazon put our customers and our brand at risk. Although these scams take place outside our store, we will continue to invest in protecting customers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage customers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe. Please visit our help pages to find additional information on how to identify scams and report them.” -- Amazon Spokesperson
While this is good advice for Prime Day, this goes for ANY email or text that wants you to click on the link or call them directly. Go to the source, whether it be your credit card, other subscription, or business.