New scam alert: Amazon customers beware!

Criminals are currently targeting Amazon customers. Here's how to protect yourself from their latest methods designed to deceive you.

There have been reports from the consumer advice center that scammers and sending phishing emails to Amazon customers. These emails claim that the recipients account has been suspended due to unusual login activity. To unlock the account, the targeted customer is then instructed to click a button in the email and follow the instructions. 

Criminals are telling Amazon customers that all of their account services have been deactivated, and that in order to reactivate them, they must verify their account details; otherwise, their account will be frozen.

The greeting in the email is deliberately impersonal to appeal to a wide range of customers. You can recognize the phishing email by the subject line: "Your account has been deactivated due to unusual login attempts from an unknown device or location. Please update your account information immediately." The fact that the scammers try to pressure their victims with urgency also identifies the email as a fraud attempt. Amazon customers should not click the link or provide any sensitive data.

To protect yourself from this scam and similar phishing attempts, you need to take these precautionary steps:

Firstly, always verify the authenticity of any email you receive. Check the sender's email address to ensure it comes from a legitimate Amazon domain, such as @amazon.com. Be cautious of slight misspellings or unusual domains. Additionally, Amazon typically addresses customers by their names, not with generic greetings like "Dear Customer" or "Hello." Examine the email's content closely; poor grammar, spelling mistakes, and urgent or threatening language are major red flags for a potential scam.

Secondly, do not click on any links or download attachments from suspicious emails. Hover your cursor over any links to see where they lead without actually clicking them. If the URL looks suspicious or doesn't match Amazon's official site, do not click on it. Likewise, avoid downloading any attachments, as legitimate emails from Amazon usually do not include them.

If you receive a suspicious email, report and delete it immediately. Forward the email to Amazon's official phishing email address (stop-spoofing@amazon.com). After reporting, move the email to your spam or junk folder and delete it.

By following these steps, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to phishing scams and keep your Amazon account secure.