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Amazon Scam

(41 Posts)
TerriBull Sat 06-Mar-21 08:53:05

I've just answered the phone to hear a pre recorded message, supposedly from Amazon, saying thank you very much for placing an order for £390, I haven't. After which I dropped the phone. Has anyone else had this happen? I am loathe to use same phone (house phone) to contact Amazon, it's left me quite shaken.

FannyCornforth Sat 06-Mar-21 08:57:34

I buy an awful lot of stuff from Amazon and have done for about ten years.
I have never had them phone me for any reason at all.
I don't think that it's something that they do.

FannyCornforth Sat 06-Mar-21 08:59:08

Have you checked your Amazon account? If there are no discrepancies you shouldn't worry

Marydoll Sat 06-Mar-21 08:59:28

Terribull, log onto your Amazon account, where you will be able to check.

Yesterday I got a call, supposedly from BT about my Internet connection.
I played along, then said I worked in IT (not true) and was really surprised, as I'm not even with BT.
I then gave the scammer a piece of my mind and told her what I thought of scammers. She cut the connection immediately. Nasty people, preying on the vulnerable.

Kim19 Sat 06-Mar-21 09:01:58

I have this regularly. So far no unauthorised amounts have ever appeared on my cc. Don't worry about it but, of course, check your statement when it comes in or.... you could phone your cc company to give yourself instant peace of mind.

sodapop Sat 06-Mar-21 09:04:05

I've never had a message like yours Terribull don't think Amazon do that. They did contact me by phone some time ago when I had a problem but I had e-mail messages first to say that is what they would do.
It's worrying with these sort of calls, so many scams nowadays. Hope you have recovered now.

MerylStreep Sat 06-Mar-21 09:05:03

We laugh at those calls. I’ve posted this many times before but it’s worth repeating if anyone’s worried about their Amazon account.
Remove your card
It only takes 10? seconds to put it on when you next order.

Liz46 Sat 06-Mar-21 09:05:53

My husband answered a call like this but it wasn't pre recorded. It was a gentle, Indian sounding lady. We normally just hang up straight away but this time he played along for a little while and then suggested to her that she get a more honest job. This gentle lady screeched at him that he is a motherf....r! Not language used in this house.

baubles Sat 06-Mar-21 09:06:17

Yesterday my DH took a similar call, I’m not sure exactly what was said as I walked into the room as he was reaching for the iPad. I held up my hand to warn him so he told the person that he wouldn’t log into his Amazon account and the caller, aka scum bag, immediately hung up.

I checked our bank accounts to make sure there were no dodgy dealings then checked the bank home page which lists known scams and saw that a new one had been added. Yep, Amazon.

Amazon do not call people they will email or text depending on what you have set up.

MerylStreep Sat 06-Mar-21 09:07:32

Marydoll when I get the live calls they get the whistle treatment.

Witzend Sat 06-Mar-21 09:08:24

I posted about this recently - some poor person phoned me (wrong number) in a right old tizz because of this - she’d been told she owed Amazon a lot of money. And despite never having ordered anything from them, she still phoned what she thought was the number they’d given her!
Talk about making me see how easily some people fall for these things - truly scary.
Thank goodness she got me instead and I was able to reassure her.

TerriBull Sat 06-Mar-21 09:11:06

Thank you all. It's the first such a call I've had, so I was quite alarmed. I've contacted Amazon who have assured me that no such order has been placed and they never phone anyone anyway. I should have known that but panic had taken root.

I have had several emails lately, purportedly from Amazon asking me to up date cards, which I know have several years to run before they expire. I know these are scams I've forwarded them on to them. Also similar requests from mobile phone provider along the lines of we will cancel your contract if you don't up date card details

It's good to share experiences though, I think we all need to be so aware.

Hetty58 Sat 06-Mar-21 09:13:02

I had a similar one yesterday. Their English was very poor, so I kept saying 'I can't understand you. Can you repeat that?' until they hung up.

TerriBull Sat 06-Mar-21 09:19:03

This was a pre recording, an American accent, I feel a bit foolish now, I'll know the next time. I should have remembered Amazon don't phone, I need to hold that in my mind.

FannyCornforth Sat 06-Mar-21 09:25:53

Don't feel foolish at all! That's how they manage to be successful - they catch you off guard.

ExD Sat 06-Mar-21 09:38:11

Have these scam calls increased since lockdown? Or is it just that I'm in the house all the time, so they catch me? What a horrible job to be forced to do.

LaRia44 Sat 06-Mar-21 09:39:39

I have caller display and I don’t answer any numbers I don’t recognise. These calls are increasing., 5 in the last 2 days.
If they don’t get an answer first try, they keep on ringing on other numbers.
Anyone who knows me is stored in my phone.
I don’t give out my landline number.
I get scam texts too, just delete them. I did check with a building society I have an account with, they checked and found nothing amiss, so never log on to a link provided, check by ringing your bank.

Dorsetcupcake61 Sat 06-Mar-21 09:45:26

Terribull please dont feel foolish. The aim of these scams is to panic you into doing something unwise like giving them bank/ card details.
I've had some very legitimate looking emails off PayPal, Amazon saying my account has been frozen and need to update bank details! The PayPal one fell flat straight away as it involved a type of account I dont even have! I frequently use Amazon and like others have said I always log into my account to check for notifications and of course there are non.
One particularly unpleasant one last year was by letter. It was very professionally done and told the recipient that they had committed some misdemeanor with Tax or NI and unless they called the number immediately and paid the fine they would be sent to prison. My daughters partner in his 20s knew on a logical level he hadnt done anything wrong he was just about to call. Fortunately he was here and I told him that's not how HMRC would act.
It is difficult as at the moment a lot of people are shopping and banking online. Sadly people can lose money if cards /bank details are copied etc or links on suspect emails are opened. Some scams are pretty obvious,one you take time to calm a little. Some are extremely clever.
Certainly never give any personal details out. Reputable companies will be perfectly happy if you are uncertain.
A very good source of information is citizens advice.org.uk. if you search for scams it will tell you what to look for and what to do if you are the victim of one.

Dorsetcupcake61 Sat 06-Mar-21 09:48:28

Good advice LaRia44.
My smart phone can be set to identify scam numbers. Also often if you google the telephone number it will appear on websites such as Who Called Me . Very useful info there.

TerriBull Sat 06-Mar-21 10:02:15

Laria yes you are right that's what my husband told me, I usually do look at numbers and don't answer if I don't recognise them. However we have moved recently, new phone number and have contacted several local workman asking for quotes etc., I think I expected it to be one of them.

Thank you Dorsetcupcake for sharing your experiences and to everybody else who has posted, I think it's good to let others know about anything untoward that has happened personally.

I will be wiser the next time

FlexibleFriend Sat 06-Mar-21 10:09:26

Mine was to say the order was over a £1000 and if it wasn't me to contact them. I just ignored it. I order a great deal from Amazon so check my account most days and knew there was no dodgy order there.

TerriBull Sat 06-Mar-21 10:21:16

Yes you've triggered my memory Flexible Friend, just as I dropped the phone I remember now the message said "if this wasn't you contact them". Sadly I wonder how many people do just that hmm

Callistemon Sat 06-Mar-21 11:00:08

This morning I got an automated phone call from "BT" telling me my landline would be cut off.

Then I got a phone call from a Real Person from "BT" with a rather strong accent asking if I was aware that other people were using our internet line and this was happening to several people in various areas. He could help me with this problem so I did have a nice chat with him and asked questions, made comments. He then asked what devices we had in the house - PC? Laptop? etc so I said none and we don't have the internet either. He put the phone down abruptly.

Callistemon Sat 06-Mar-21 11:03:32

Terribull we have had lots of calls, purportedly from Amazon and other organisations.

Yes, we should get call-minder

Callistemon Sat 06-Mar-21 11:08:05

DD and I were with SIL's mum when she had a letter sent to her business address saying her son had been killed in a car crash in Africa and she needed to contact the sender of the letter to discuss his estate and will. Of course, she needed to lodge a considerable sum of money with them before they could release the money.
Although she knew full well it wasn't true and he was at his house with my DH, she was very distressed.

These people have no feelings.