Shopping on Amazon is extremely popular both with consumers and scammers seeking to exploit Amazon’s popularity, particularly during the holiday shopping season  I have warned you many times over the years about scammers who send various types of phishing emails which purport to be from Amazon attempting to lure you into either clicking on links which can download malware, such as ransomware or keystroke logging malware or providing personal information that can be used to make you a victim of identity theft.

The latest Amazon phishing scam starts with an email that appears to come from Amazon informing you that there is a problem with your account and you need to reset your password. You are then directed to an Amazon log-in page where you are instructed to enter your user name and password. The log-in page looks legitimate, but it is not. It is a scam and if you provide this information, you will quickly find that items are fraudulently purchased using your account

TIPS

There are a number of indications that phishing emails are not legitimate emails from Amazon, but instead is a phishing email. Legitimate emails from Amazon would  be directed to you by name rather than being addressed to “Dear Customer” or in some cases no salutation at all. It also is sent from an address that has no relation to Amazon, but is most likely a hijacked computer made a part of a botnet to send out these types of phishing emails.   As with all phishing emails, two things can happen if you click on the links provided.  Either you will be sent to a legitimate looking, but phony webpage where you will be prompted to input personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft or, even worse, merely by clicking on the link, you may download keystroke logging malware that will steal all of your personal information from your computer or smartphone and use it to make you a victim of identity theft. However, some scammers manage to send emails directed specifically to you by name and appear to be sent from Amazon so you can never be too careful. Trust me, you can’t trust anyone.

If you receive and email like this and think it may possibly be legitimate, merely call the customer service number for Amazon where you can confirm that it is a scam.

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