Did You Receive an Amazon OTP Text? How to Tell If It's a Scam or Legit

Many people have been receiving OTP texts from Amazon when they weren't even trying to log into their accounts. Other have been complaining about "Amazon Prime Pmts" showing up in their credit card statements. While Amazon certainly has its perks, its growing customer base only makes it a more desirable target for scammers.

What is an Amazon OPT text and why might it mean you're being targeted as part of a scam?

OTPs (one-time passwords) add an extra layer of security for active customers. Amazon sends a six-digit OTP to your registered email address after they ship your item or if you're trying to log in from a new device or browser. However, if you receive an OTP text out of the blue, it should definitely raise your suspicion. Here's why and what you should do if you receive one.

Amazon will send you an OTP text for one of two reasons:

• It's required to complete a high-value delivery
• It's sent for two-factor authentication when you're trying to log into your account

However, the problem arises if you weren't trying to log in and you don't have any active deliveries. Although an OTP text might still be from Amazon, it could mean that someone else might be trying to log into your account. They might be using an incorrect password and Amazon is prompting them to input an OTP.

Unfortunately, there are ways scammers can get your login credentials through a data breach, hacking, or a successful phishing attempt.

One of the very first things you should do when someone is trying to gain access to your account without your knowledge is to change your password immediately. Be sure to change it to something unique and hard to guess. You should also change your login information for any other accounts that share the same password.

It's also a good idea to check your banking and other information to ensure no suspicious activity has occurred.

If you don't have two-step verification already enabled on your Amazon account, do it to protect your account from scammers and hackers. It's normally your last line of defense before someone enters your Amazon account. If someone were to gain access to your account, they could then use your saved payment methods to go shopping, lock you out of your own account, or even change your email and phone number.

In general, it's always advisable not to click on any links included in text messages or emails. Amazon will never ask you to log in to a URL that isn't linked to Amazon.com. If this does happen, you should ignore the text or email and report it to Amazon.

Amazon has a webpage with instructions for identifying whether an email, call, text message, or webpage is a legitimate communication from the company. Scammers might try to call you and pretend to represent Amazon. They might ask you to verify your account or fix another problem with your account by giving the OTP you received from Amazon. You should never give your OTP to someone else.

Once you provide your OTP to an unauthorized party, they can then gain access to your Amazon account.