Scam Artists Are Using Fake Phone Numbers to Pose as Amazon Customer Service

Another day, another Amazon scam. That’s what seems to be the case after months and months of new tricks from people trying to steal our personal info — and our hard-earned cash — by attempting to sneak into our Amazon accounts. But the latest Amazon scam is quite the doozy.

We’ve all Googled a phone number we didn’t know by heart, right? This is especially true for customer service phone numbers. (Chances are, just about none of us have those memorized.) But now, experts are warning that scam artists are now taking advantage of those internet searches by paying for their websites to show up whenever people search for “Amazon customer service number.” You probably know where this is going: Scammers then put up a fake number to convince people to call that one instead of the real Amazon number. This allows them to trick innocent folks into giving away personal information — as well as access to their financial data.

Luckily, there are a few easy ways to keep this from happening to you. First of all, keep in mind that the real Amazon customer service number is 1-888-280-4331. If you see 1-888-405-2111 or 1-850-601-5550 pop up in the search engine instead, be aware that those are fake numbers — do not call either of those under any circumstances.

But let’s say they still find a way to get you on the line. Heather Aal of the Better Business Bureau has some great tips if you find yourself chatting with a “customer service” representative who raises your suspicions.

“Think about some identifying information for them,” Aal said in an interview with KCRG.com. “Rather than giving them your name, phone number, account number, or whatever it is, ask them if they can look up your order. Well, if you give them your address and they can’t look up an order for you, there’s a problem with that.”

She added that whenever a person asks for your entire credit card number or full account number over the phone, that’s a major red flag; credible businesses never ask for the full number of anything.

“If your gut feels funny, something doesn’t seem quite right, listen to it,” she said. “Take a moment, take a better look at that Google search, and make sure that that number you just dialed is really going to where you want it to go to.”

A great rule of thumb if we’ve ever heard one!