£400,000 Lost so far to amazon scam

Reported by: Action Fraud
Status: Ongoing 
Scam Type: Automated Calls, live scammer calls 

Amazon Prime Logo 1 e1580212035648

UK Households are prime target of this scam

Action Fraud Has Reported This And Victims have lost over £400,000

Scam Overview: how it works

The scam works by an automated calling system which calls it’s unsuspecting victims. When the system succesfully obtains an answered call a recording is played informing them that they have been charged for an Amazon Prime subscription. The recording mentions that a fraudster has used their personal details to pay for the subscription and they should press 1 to cancel the transaction. After the victim presses 1 they are connected to an actual person who pretends to be an Amazon employee. 

Over 500 reports have been received by Action Fraud with 200 of them losing money to the scam.

Customer Service Representative:

The scammer speaks as though he is working for Amazon and tactfully guides the unsuspecting victim through a process of downloading screen-sharing software on the victims computer. The victim is then told to log into his or her bank account exposing all of their financial information to the scammer. 

Teamviewer: Screen-sharing scam

Be forwarned of anyone who convinces you to download Teamviewer from any reputable company. Companies like Amazon and Google generally have their own screensharing software whether it’s licensed or proprietary it will almost NEVER say Teamviewer. 

Action Fraud Has Reported This And Victims have lost over £400,000