With Amazon’s expansive global platform, the opportunity for fraudulent activities increases significantly, drawing in scammers seeking to exploit unsuspecting victims. The e-commerce giant’s financial success, marked by its reported $169.961 billion in revenue at the close of the last quarter of 2023 makes it an even more attractive target for cybercriminal activities. The company’s daily income is estimated to reach a substantial $1.29 billion.
It is essential for sellers and businesses to stay vigilant and informed about the latest scams in order to safeguard their operation from sophisticated and harmful fraud. This article aims to shed light on the top five scams targeting sellers on platforms like Amazon. Plus, we’ll provide valuable insights into how you can effectively sidestep these malicious traps and ensure the security of your online business.
Types of Amazon Scams And Frauds
Hijacked Accounts
On Amazon Marketplace, a rising issue emerges when hackers compromise legitimate seller accounts to list high-end products—like cheap laptops, discounted gaming consoles, and budget-friendly smart TVs—at temptingly low prices. Unsuspecting bargain hunters, enticed by these great deals, make purchases only to be disappointed when their items never arrive. In the aftermath, not only are buyers left out of pocket and defrauded, but also legitimate sellers find their reputations at stake due to account takeovers, while the scammers escape with profits and, presumably, a sense of ill-gotten triumph.
Phishing
Phishing and spoofing scams have long plagued Amazon users, with cybercriminals masquerading as the retail giant to dupe recipients into surrendering their login credentials through seemingly legitimate emails. Despite being a persistent issue since Amazon’s early days, these fraudulent schemes have evolved in complexity, challenging detection and prevention efforts as they become increasingly indistinguishable from authentic communications.
Review Scams
A subtle yet detrimental scam undermining the retail experience involves malicious sellers crafting false reviews or funding such fabrications to impugn competitors’ reputations. These deceptive critiques muddy consumer judgment and can deal a severe blow to a merchant’s credibility. Additionally, some scammers may manipulate feedback platforms by endorsing negative reviews to boost their visibility, potentially misleading more customers and amplifying the harm to affected stores.
ASIN Piggybacking
ASIN piggybacking is when a seller uses an existing popular product’s Amazon Standard Identification Number to list the same item at a lower price. While some view this as a legitimate strategy, it crosses into unethical territory if the seller offers fake or inferior copies under the genuine ASIN, risking buyer dissatisfaction, potential loss of sales, and harm to the original seller’s reputation.
Delivery Scam
Failed delivery scams, where buyers falsely claim non-receipt of a product for a refund, are widespread across online marketplaces, not just Amazon. Thanks to advanced shipping tracking features employed by both Amazon and its merchants, the prevalence of such fraudulent activities is on the decline.
How to Prevent Amazon Business Scams?
Go to Source
Be cautious with any message received, authentic or fraudulent, and refrain from clicking links within emails or texts. Navigate to Amazon.com, select ‘Account & Lists’ at the top-right, followed by ‘Your Messages’ to access all your genuine Amazon communications. If it’s absent there, the message is not from Amazon.
Hide Information About Yourself
You may want to hide your real country of residence for both security and commercial reasons. If you switch to an Amazon app country, you can get access to a more promising region for doing business. The question is rather how to change your country on Amazon, because by default this function is not available. But you can a little trick Amazon into thinking you’re in another country through a VPN. More details at the link above.
Leverage an Amazon Brand Protection Solution
Red Points offers a robust brand protection service for Amazon that diligently monitors and automatically identifies any instances of trademark, brand, and patent infringements around the clock. This vigilant system not only detects but swiftly counters potential fraud and scam activities, ensuring they’re handled promptly without the need for your direct involvement. Acting autonomously, Red Points enforces your intellectual property rights by dealing with infringing sellers and filing reports to Amazon without delay.
Protect Your Accounts
For enhanced account security, it’s critical to create a robust, unique password for your Amazon account—preferably utilizing a password manager for generating and managing passwords with ease. Additionally, don’t overlook the importance of enabling 2-factor authentication; this adds an extra layer of security, safeguarding your account from unauthorized access, even if your login details are compromised. You can also add VPN to Edge to avoid data leaks. VPNs encrypt data before sending and prevent any tricks of hackers to steal or falsify your data.
Be a FBA Seller
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) provides sellers with a layer of defense against shipping-related false delivery claims, return scams, and other fraudulent activities, by handling the shipping process from their own warehouses, although it’s important to note that this doesn’t offer absolute immunity from all possible scams and frauds. FBA acts as a form of added protection for sellers in the online marketplace.
Be Wary Of Phone Calls
Beware of unsolicited phone calls claiming to be from Amazon; their customer support number is 1-888-280-4331, and it’s rare for them to call about issues instead of emailing or notifying you on their website. Amazon will not request sensitive details like payment or login information over the phone. If contacted, do not use any provided numbers; instead, call back using the official support number to ensure you’re speaking with a legitimate representative.
Final Advice
Should you encounter an email or communication that appears to be from Amazon but raises suspicions, don’t hesitate to report it straightaway. Whether you’re an existing customer using our convenient self-service reporting toolkit or simply someone vigilant about potential scams, reaching out to us at [email protected] is crucial. Your proactive reports are invaluable, empowering us to pinpoint and act against fraudulent activities, preemptively averting scams and protecting our community.