Are you going to take advantage of Amazon Prime Day deals? The "madness" of discounts also hides threats. See what some of the most common scams are and what you should do to stay safe.
Amazon Prime Day , the e-commerce giant's event with a variety of exclusive discounts for Prime members, kicked off today in several countries, including Portugal, running until July 12.
Despite the “madness” of discounts, cybercriminals are also “on the prowl” and ready to use multiple tactics with the aim of defrauding and robbing consumers. In addition to the warnings left by cybersecurity companies, Amazon itself also alerts Internet users to phishing schemes .
Speaking to the Associated Press , Scott Knapp, director of Amazon's risk prevention area for consumers, points to Amazon Prime membership schemes and those involving order confirmation as the two main frauds most detected by the company in recent years .
In a statement to the news agency, Amazon stresses that it has a “zero tolerance” policy for counterfeit products and fake reviews . According to the e-commerce giant, more than 200 million fake reviews were blocked in 2022.
The company explains that users can report fraud, as well as cases of false reviews , following the instructions available in the Customer Support section of its website.
What are the most common scams?
According to data advanced by the Check Point Research (CPR) team, 16 times more phishing attacks related to Amazon Prime were detected during the month of June compared to May . In all, there was an 8% increase in Amazon-related phishing.
The researchers detail that, during the period under analysis, almost 1,500 new domains related to the term "Amazon" were registered. 92% of these domains were considered at risk .
How to take advantage of discounts safely?
To help you stay safe while enjoying Amazon Prime Day discounts, we've put together a set of recommendations from cybersecurity experts. Note that, in general, most of the advice given in this article also applies to online shopping at any time of the year.
1 - Sounds too good to be true? It's better to distrust
With a large amount of “attractive” offers circulating, it is important to maintain a critical view. Take into account the amount of the discount, as well as characteristics such as the quality of the product or even the release date, to see if it's really worth it.
2 - Mistakes and unusual language are warning signs
Emails or messages with spelling errors or with unusual language for a brand the size of Amazon are one of the signs that you may be facing a fraudulent scheme. Note that these extraneous elements don't just apply to the body of the message.
Amazon warns that the emails sent by it always come from a specific address, reflecting the domain from which you are making the purchase. For example, if you shop on Amazon Spain, you will receive emails from an address that ends in @amazon.es, such as [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Also pay attention to the links you access, remembering that you should not click on addresses that appear in communications that appear to be fraudulent. According to Amazon, links to its legitimate websites “begin with https://www.amazon.es or the equivalent for an international Amazon website”.
“Legitimate Amazon sites also have a dot before “amazon.es”, such as https://www.“algo”.amazon.es or “algo”.amazon.co.uk,” the company claims, adding that the text presented before the dot “will never be an IP address”, such as http://123.456.789.123/amazon.es/.
3 - Check if the pages where you shop use the security protocol
Experts warn that it is not recommended to make purchases on pages that do not have an SSL security certificate. To check if the page in question uses this certificate, look for “https” at the beginning of the address. When accessing such a page, an icon with a padlock will also appear on one side of the address bar, depending on the browser you are using.
4 - Reinforce the security of your account on the Amazon platform
To avoid possible problems, it is recommended to reinforce the security of your account on the Amazon platform with a strong, complex and unique password. If you need extra help, you can always consult the tips that we present, as well as the examples below, in this article .
5 - Share only the data that is necessary
Amazon recalls that it “never requests the provision of personal information via email”, nor “the updating of payment information that is not linked to an Amazon order you have placed or an Amazon service you have subscribed to”. You should also be wary if any retailer asks you for this type of information, including when making payments. Still on the subject of payments, opt for secure options with which you feel more confident.