Criminals phoning people while posing as Amazon staff took £86,837 from 110 reported victims in nine days, and most were aged 50 to 79.
Scammers are now phoning Amazon shoppers in the UK, and it is working. In nine days, 110 people reported losing money to fake Amazon callers. Together they lost £86,837. That is more than £9,600 a day, according to Report Fraud, the UK national service for reporting fraud and cybercrime.
The caller poses as a helpful Amazon employee who is trying to stop a fraud. They may say someone is trying to buy something with your card and send it to an address that is not yours. Other versions mention a problem with your account or a delivery. The story changes, but the goal does not.
The caller wants two things: your personal details and remote access to your device. Remote access means someone far away can see and control your phone or computer. Once they have it, they can take money from you while you believe you are protecting your account.
Amazon is used by about 43 million people in the UK each month, so scammers have a huge pool of possible targets. People aged 50 to 79 made up 60% of the reports. Anyone can be caught, though. Chief Superintendent Amanda Wolf of Report Fraud said a call that feels ordinary can catch any of us off guard, especially when it seems to come from a brand we trust.
Not many people, but there is some perspective. The 110 reports are a tiny share of 43 million shoppers. Fake emails and delivery texts are also still familiar tricks that many people now spot. The call is the new twist, and it works because people tend to trust a live voice more than a message.
The steps are in the alert box above. The core idea from Report Fraud is to pause. Criminals want you to react fast. Wolf said that if there is a real reason for the call, the caller will understand why you want to check and call back on a published number. The same goes for callers who claim to be from your bank or the police.
Report Fraud also notes that real service providers, banks and the police will never call and ask you to move money, share financial details or take control of your device.
The material does not say how many people were called in total, how the scammers got their phone numbers, or whether the nine-day figures are typical. The totals only count people who reported. Amazon says it wants shoppers to report suspected scams so it can protect accounts and pass bad actors to law enforcement.
If a caller says they are from Amazon, your bank or the police, hang up and call back on a number you find yourself.
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