‘It’s just scary’: Amazon fake invoice scam has a slight twist

CHARLOTTE — A local woman almost got caught in a scam when she received a text from what she thought was Amazon.

You get an email.

It looks like an Amazon invoice for something you didn’t buy.

So your instinct may be to jump on it and correct it, but it’s a phishing scam.

Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke has warned you about this before, but it’s still popping up.

However, there is a slight twist to the scam.

Denise Sigmon said she got a text and thought Amazon sent it.

It said she bought a smart deadbolt for $630 and to call a certain number if the charge wasn’t right.

So she did.

“And they said your identity has been stolen,” she said. “Your son Tyler Sigmon’s identity has been stolen, and your daughter Katie Sigmon’s identity’s been stolen.”

Sigmon said she does have children with those names so the scammers did their homework.

She said the scammer had her buy $2,000 worth of gift cards and then told her to buy Bitcoin.

Sigmon told Stoogenke she was unfamiliar with cryptocurrency, so that was where she drew the line.

“It’s just scary and I don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” she said.

Amazon said on its website: You might receive emails from Amazon, such as Sold, Ship Now emails or Technical Notification emails. However, sometimes you might receive emails that are not really from Amazon, even if at first glance they may appear to be. Instead, such emails are falsified and attempt to convince you to reveal sensitive account information. These false emails, also called “spoofed” emails or “phishing,” look similar to legitimate emails from Amazon.

Often these emails direct you to a false website that looks similar to an Amazon website where you might be asked to give account information, such as your email address and password combination.

The company also says, “Amazon has filed several lawsuits against phishers and spoofers. These lawsuits began with sellers alerting Amazon to suspicious emails. As part of our ongoing commitment to stop spoofing, you can help us investigate spoofed emails. Send us the original spoofed email, with the complete header information, using our report phishing form.

Advice:

1. Look for spelling and other grammatical mistakes.

2. Hover your cursor over the sender’s email address. It probably looks nothing like an address Amazon would use.

3. If you see a picture next to the email -- the thumbnail -- it should be the smile logo.

4. If you really think someone bought something using your Amazon account, go into your Amazon account and check your orders.

5. Whatever you do, don’t call the number (or click the link) the email or text gives you.

6. Amazon will never ask you for the following information in an email or text: your bank account, credit card number, PIN, mother’s maiden name, birth city, favorite pet’s name, or Amazon password.

Amazon has lot more detailed information about protecting yourself here.

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