Scammers are playing on Amazon’s early Black Friday sales by sending out emails purportedly from the company saying there is a problem processing orders and that they won’t be shipped.

It adds that you won’t be able to access your Amazon account or place any orders until you confirm certain information.

Naturally, there’s a link at the bottom of the page telling you to ‘confirm’ your account.

It’ll take you to a fake website which looks very similar to the real one – when you enter your personal details, they’ll go straight to the scammers harvesting them.

Image credit: Hoax Slayer

Once you click the ‘Save & Continue’ button, you’ll automatically be redirected to the Amazon site so that you’re none the wiser.

The fraudsters can use your newly-acquired details to make purchases in your name, and potentially use your information to open financial products in your name.

In the run-up to Black Friday and Christmas, it’s likely that many shoppers will have made an order with Amazon and might be inclined to click the link in the email.

Keep Yourself Safe

Be wary of any emails claiming you must open a link or an attached file to update details or fix an account problem.

Make sure you only enter your account details through the genuine Amazon website or through its official app. Check that ‘https’ and a padlock is in the address bar when entering your bank details online.

Keep checking your online banks statements and monitor your credit report for anything unusual.

Don’t Forget
Complete the new 2016 Cyber Crime survey, so we can see the full scope of Cyber Crime in Warwickshire, and across West Mercia and the West Midlands – https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RegionalCyber16

For more information about our work, please visit www.safeinwarwickshire.com/cybercrime

Cyber Aware is a cross-government campaign, funded by the National Cyber Security Programme. They aim to measurably and significantly improve the online safety behaviour and confidence of consumers and small businesses (SMEs).

Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading source of factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety. Their website offers advice on how you can protect yourself, your computers and devices, and your business against the likes of fraud, identity theft, viruses and other potential online problems.