According to the New York Post, Amazon scams that could cost you thousands of dollars have increased by 500% since 2021 — so how can you avoid them?

Due to its popularity, the online retailing giant has become a prime target for fraudsters and internet scammers looking to take advantage of unsuspecting customers.

As Amazon's security improves, so do the scammers' sophistication — but there are some red flags that can help you spot them. This blog will explain how to spot and avoid scams while shopping on Amazon this holiday season.

“We want to help consumers avoid impersonation scams this holiday season. These happen when a scammer pretends to be a trusted company and reaches out to try to get access to sensitive information like social security numbers, bank information, or Amazon account details.” about amazon.com

These six tips will help you avoid impersonation scams.

We encourage our customers to use the following shopping tips this holiday season:

1. Verify Your Purchases on Amazon

If you receive a message about the purchase of a product or service, do not respond to it or click on any links in it; instead, log into your Amazon account or use the Amazon mobile app and confirm that it is indeed in your purchase history before proceeding.

2. Be Aware of Payment Methods

Amazon will not accept payment over the phone or via email, but only through their mobile app, website, or in one of the physical stores. Amazon will not call you and request that you make a payment or bank transfer through another website.

3. Be cautious of false urgency

Scammers frequently try to create a sense of urgency in order to persuade you to do what they want.

4. Don't feel compelled to purchase a gift card

Amazon will never request that you buy a gift card, and no legitimate sale or transaction will require you to pay with gift cards. On Amazon’s help pages you can learn more about common gift card scams.

5. Contact Amazon

If you have any doubts, stop communicating with the potential scammer and contact the Amazon support team directly through the Amazon app or website. Do not call numbers sent via text or email, or found in online search results. Remember, Amazon will never ask you to download or install software to contact customer service, nor will we ever ask you to pay for customer service support.

6. Look at what others are saying

Check to see if anyone else has reported a similar incident. Amazon has partnered with the Better Business Bureau in the United States to provide consumers with a searchable Scam Tracker, which allows you to search suspicious communications reported by others by email, URL, phone number, and more.

Consider reporting scams when you come across them

If you receive correspondence that you believe is not from Amazon, please report it right away. Customers can report something suspicious using the Amazon self-service tool in a few simple steps. Even if you are not a customer, you can contact the Amazon support team at stop-spoofing@amazon.com to report a suspicious message. These reports provide Amazon with information that allows them to identify scammers and take action against them, to prevent scams from occurring.

Shop safe this holiday season!