How to Spot New Amazon Text Message Scam and Protect Yourself

Whether you are an Amazon customer or not, you could still find yourself the victim of a scam related to the e-commerce giant. Scams related to accounts abound, and Amazon is warning of a new texting scam. One Amazon text message scam claims to be from Amazon and that you need to take action to "recover" your account.

The general rules about scams don't change much no matter what company or industry they're related to. Scammers simply want to gain access to your personal information such as birthdate, Social Security number, account numbers, and other sensitive data. That's how they can steal from you, but there are simple steps to protect yourself.

Amazon does occasionally send security alerts about any new activity or changes to your account, and those could come from an email or a text message, depending on what contact information you've provided to Amazon. However, you should be vigilant about watching for fake texts or emails from Amazon (and any other company).

Amazon states that if you do find yourself unable to access your Amazon account, you need to contact Customer Service to get your access restored. This might happen if you no longer have the email or phone number you previously used to sign in to Amazon.

There are a few warning signs of scams. Some of the red flags that should tip you off to a scam include:

• Typos or errors in a message claiming to be from Amazon
• Correspondence related to a transaction you didn't make
• Texts or emails claiming to be from Amazon even if you don't have an Amazon account

WGAL8 reported on a recent Amazon text message scam, stating that even a recent message with just one tiny typo can be a scam. The message in question left out the word "a" in the statement "This is simple step to recover your account." That message also had a very long string of letters in the sender's email address.

Any message that asks you to provide personal information such as an account number should be ignored. Only if you initiate a phone call or message with Amazon or another company should you feel safe providing sensitive data. If you receive a text or email that seems "off," don't click on any links provided. However, you should follow up and contact customer service.

On the online help page from Amazon, you can get important tips for protecting your information and recognizing scams easily. Some possible messages that could be fraudulent:

• Notices that there's a problem with your account
• Links to websites that resemble Amazon
• Order confirmation for something you didn't order
• Requests to update payment information
• Attachments asking to install software

Amazon advises taking a few basic steps to protect yourself:

1. Don't share personal information.
2. If you received messages claiming to be from Amazon but you don't have an account, report it to stop-spoofing@amazon.com.
3. Don't open attachments.

Amazon states, "We'll never send emails with links to an IP address (string of numbers), such as http://123.456.789.123/amazon.com/."

Verify whether a website or message came from Amazon by checking the web address. Legitimate Amazon websites will contain a period before "amazon.com." Plus, if you get an email that has the Amazon smile logo beside the email and the address contains @amazon.com, it is really from Amazon.

An example of a legitimate Amazon website is the Amazon Pay website at https://pay.amazon.com/.