Beware of the Surge in Fake Amazon Prime Phone Calls

Published on: 17 Jul, 2020
Updated on: 19 Jul, 2020

A warning has been issued after a sudden spike in scam calls pretending to be from Amazon Prime.

This month, Surrey Police have had 20 reports of such calls. Thankfully, no money has been lost but victims have been left shaken and worried.

This phone call is usually from some fraudster claiming to from Amazon Prime and saying some money amount (usually for £79.99) will be taken from their account to renew a subscription.

Many victims are advised to press a number on their phone as an option to not pay. The scammer will then talk them through installing an app on their phone or tablet, and confirming their personal and banking details to stop the payment. Of course, this is all an attempt to get the victim to transfer money to the caller’s bank account.

PC Bernadette Lawrie BEM, the Financial Abuse Safeguarding Officer for Surrey Police, said: “The evil perpetrators of this time of crime prey on the most vulnerable in our communities and often target a generation who aren’t as familiar with technology.

“We know people in other parts of the country have lost devastating sums of money to calls like these so we urge residents to be wary of any calls about subscription payments.

“Don’t give or confirm your personal or banking details with an unexpected caller. If you’re unsure if the call is legitimate, hang up and verify the number with a trusted source, such as the company’s official website, or call a good friend or family member for advice.”

Police advise:

Act with care if you get an unsolicited phone call;
Never transfer funds into another account on the instruction of an unexpected caller, even if they tell you the account is in your name;
Always check your phone line has properly disconnected before making another call. Try calling a good friend first, wait five minutes or use a different landline or mobile; and
Never share your PIN code or enter your PIN into a telephone.

Responses to Beware of the Surge in Fake Amazon Prime Phone Calls

John Lomas Reply

July 17, 2020 at 6:46 pm

I don’t know if the calls you get down there are different, but my regular calls from “Amazon Prime” are so obviously a recording that I just put the phone down after the first three or four words.
Stuart Barnes Reply

July 17, 2020 at 10:36 pm

I am surprised that this has only just been noticed. I have been getting such calls (and other fraudulent calls) for a long time.

Just block them.
K White Reply

July 18, 2020 at 8:50 am

My experience is that this is not a “live” call, but a recorded message. Simply hang up. Similar calls purport to come from banks saying a certain transaction has taken place on your account. Again, simply hang up.
Diana Holland Reply

July 18, 2020 at 7:26 pm

I had a live call last week. The perpetrators were quite convincing and said £79.99 had been taken from my Amazon Prime account. When I said I was no longer a member they replied that my Amazon account had been hacked and the National cybercrime unit would help me.

Fortunately, I realised this was a scam but then had to inform my bank, credit card company and Amazon and then update security on my computer – all very time-consuming. I agree these people are evil.
Tay-Jarl Andessen Reply

July 20, 2020 at 1:41 pm

I have just seen this article, literally ten minutes after taking yet another call purporting to be Amazon concerning the cancellation of my account lest I pay £79.99.

I pressed the number to speak with an “account manager”, and straight away I heard what sounded like a busy call centre in the background and was greeted with, “Yes?” from a heavily-accented chap.

I already knew something was not right with it, as I never linked my landline to my Prime account, but chose to see how far they would go. I asked him why, given he claimed to be calling from Amazon, he had not called my mobile number which is registered on the account. He said it had been engaged – which it was not – and asked for the number just to ensure their records were accurate.

I asked the address he was calling from and all he said was “Amazon UK”, and why did I want to know, as he could take payment over the telephone and ensure my account remained operable. I said I wished to send an invoice for my time wasted with his call, and the two a day I’ve had on and off over the last three weeks.

His answer was in the form of language you certainly would not hear in church and slammed the phone down. They are soulless vultures, preying on someone believing the call to be genuine. There are bound to be more trusting souls who will fall for this, and I think maybe Amazon should do more to bring attention to it and clarify that they would not contact customers in this manner etc.