How You Could Lose Big Money on Prime Day Or Crime Day!

The Federal Trade Commission wants you to know that Amazon is by far the most imitated company by online scammers.

You might see emails, texts, or even phone calls start rolling in today and tomorrow during Prime Day from scammers using a concentrated version of their usual tactics to part you from your hard-earned wages.

Here are some of the most popular notifications and messages scammers may send you:

• “You still have Amazon Bonus credit.” The scammer will urge you to make purchases before a fake expiration date.
• “Confirm details for shipment.” Thieves will try to get you to click a link to take care of this “problem.”
• Messages about your Amazon Prime membership may say things such as: “You won’t be able to watch Amazon Prime shows until this payment issue is fixed.” Some messages may claim “Your Amazon Prime subscription is having billing issues.” You are then asked to update your billing information (thereby giving it all to the scammer).
• “Package delivery notification.” Claiming a package has been delivered, you are told you can get more information by clicking a link.

These methods have one goal, which is to get as much personal info about you as they can. Click a link & they may have your credit card info, login details, and maybe even remote access to your digital device.

The Better Business Bureau/Dakotas has always had the mission of protecting residents from these kinds of schemes and they have some suggestions on how you can keep your personal information and money safe.

• Fake websites are easy to make look real. Check the URL to be sure it comes from Amazon. Watch for bad grammar, especially misspellings and strange use of capitalization.
• Don’t believe it’s real just because of the images and logos.
• Be sure it’s a secure website that contains “HTTPS” in the URL. The “s” is important as it stands for “secure.” Without that “s,” you should close the window and ignore the site.
• Highly sought-after products can lead you to a scam. If it’s sold out everywhere else and seems available on some site at a strangely low price, beware of a scam. What looks too good to be true usually is.
• Always pay with a credit card. It will make later disputes much easier to resolve. Never pay when asked to use only digital wallet apps, prepaid money cards, or any other non-traditional method.

For Amazon Prime Day questions and shopping issues, contact the Better Business Bureau/Dakotas at 1-800-856-2417.