Police issue warning over scam Amazon Prime calls

Police have issued a warning about calls purporting to be from Amazon Prime, after fraudsters steal over £1 Million from victims.

West Mercia Police are warning Shropshire residents about criminals targeting unsuspecting members of the public using Amazon Prime scam phone calls.

Between 1 October 2019 and 16 January 2020, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) identified 571 reports of Amazon Prime-related Computer Software Service Fraud. So far the scam has seen fraudsters steal over £1M from victims, with one victim losing over £65,000.

Police explained how the scam operates:

The scam involves victims receiving an automated call, informing them that they have been charged for an Amazon Prime subscription.

They are subsequently instructed to ‘press 1’ to cancel the transaction. When they do this, they are directed to a fraudster posing as an Amazon customer service representative.

The fraudster then advises the victim that the subscription was purchased fraudulently and that remote access to their computer is required in order to fix a security flaw, that will prevent it from reoccurring. The victim is asked to download a remote access application, often the ‘Team Viewer’ app, which grants the fraudster access to the victim’s computer.

The software is then misused by the criminal to capture sensitive personal and financial information from the victim’s computer.

Other variants of the crime involve fraudsters stating that the recipient is eligible for a refund for an unauthorised transaction on their Amazon account.

Avoid being a scam victim

Personal information: Always question uninvited approaches in case it’s a scam. Instead, contact the company directly using a known email or phone number.

Stay in control: Have the confidence to refuse unusual requests for personal or financial information. It’s easy to feel embarrassed when faced with unexpected or complex conversations. But it’s okay to stop the discussion if you do not feel in control of it.

Remote access: Never install any software or visit a website as a result of a cold call. Unsolicited requests for remote access to your computer should always raise a red flag.

If you have been a victim of fraud or cyber-crime, report it to Actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.