METRO DETROIT — Most Amazon Prime deals start on Tuesday, July 8, and continue through the end of this week. But if you're looking to save money on these deals, I want to warn you about a scam going around right now.
Watch Alicia's Report in the video player below:
Amazon is warning its customers about an increase in fake emails about Amazon Prime membership subscriptions. The scammers claim your subscription will automatically renew at an unexpected price, much higher than what you're paying now.
The emails often contain personal information that the scammers have obtained from other sources to make the email look legitimate. And if you see a 'cancel subscription' button, DO NOT click that.
A consumer advocate I talked with says that will take you to a page that mirrors what the Amazon website looks like!
“If they clicked on a link, in general, they won't immediately be scammed. You're going down a rabbit hole," said Michelle Couch-Friedman, the Founder and CEO of ConsumerRescue.org. "Now you're inside the scammers lair, right? But until you start giving your personal information, there's not a lot they can do with you just clicking on something on their website. So, in general what they want you to do is either get in there and log in. You're not going to actually be logged into Amazon. And you're gonna be logged into scammers. Whatever they're going to do with it. Or they want you to call their 800 number, 888 number, whatever it will be so that they can get more information.”
Here are Amazon's best practices to protect against scams:
- Always access Amazon directly through the mobile app, or by typing Amazon.com into our browser
- To find out if a message is from Amazon, visit the 'Message Center' under 'Your Account'
- Enable two-step verification through login and security settings, or click on this link.
- To verify membership, open your Amazon mobile app or go directly to Amazon's website. Then, select 'Prime' from the main menu to view your membership status.
- If you clicked a link in the email and gave any personal information, monitor your credit or debit card activity
- Report any suspicious emails or communications at this link.
