The FTC said reports about companies pretending to be Amazon increased fivefold during that year, and about 6,000 people who reported an Amazon-related scam said they lost money in the scheme, with an average median loss of $1,000.
Apple is the second-most frequent company used in these fraud incidents, with victims giving the person access to their iCloud accounts or thinking they’ve won free iPads.
Impersonators will often leave messages or send emails that alert the victims to supposedly suspicious activity or unauthorized purchases, asking the person to call to clear up the situation then tricking them into giving them remote access to a computer or phone.
The scammer will pretend to refund too much money, then ask the person on the other end to return the “difference.” Some of these fraudsters even tell their victims that Amazon would fire them if they don’t get the money back. Another trick is gaining access to the person’s online banking accounts.
Scammers also have their prey buy gift cards and send pictures of the numbers on the back or send them fake text messages saying they’ve won raffles for free products, but they need to send their credit card information to pay for the shipping charge.
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Most of the victims of these scams tell the FTC that the fraudster initiated the incident, but some have triggered their own problems by calling fake Amazon help numbers they’ve found online.
The FTC reports that people ages 60 and older were four times more likely to report being scammed by an Amazon fraudster and reported losing almost twice as much money as the younger victims: $1,500 versus $814.
Related: Fraudsters Launching Fewer Attacks, But Aim At Bigger Targets
ACI reports that mobile data fraud increased by just 1.22%, while theft within the buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) channel rose more than 6% in the first quarter of 2021. Additionally, the average transaction value of attempted fraud increased by 4.7%, while overall occurrences decreased by 3.2%.
