Amazon.com scam hits shoppers before holidays

Holiday shoppers who use Amazon.com to buy presents for loved ones will want to pay attention to the latest scam that’s targeting consumers’ personal information.

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The scammer sends an email to a customer that appears to be from Amazon.com, stating that a recent order cannot be shipped. The email claims there has been a problem with processing and informs the customer that they won’t be able to access their account or place orders with Amazon until they confirm their information.

A "click here" link inside email leads the customer to an authentic-looking Amazon web page to confirm the name, address and credit card information on the account. After the person enters the information and clicks on the "save and continue" button, it takes the customer to Amazon’s actual website.

So how do you know an Amazon.com email is real or fake?

The scam email subject line will say, "Your Amazon.com order cannot be shipped." If the "from" line in the email contains an Internet Service Provider other than @amazon.com, then the email is not from Amazon.

If someone gets an email like this from Amazon, or any other online retailer, they should not click on the link.

Officials said that if a customer recently ordered from Amazon and feels concerned about missing an authentic email from Amazon, they should log into Amazon.com and check under "Your Orders" to see if the email’s details match any of the order information. If the information doesn’t match, then the email is a scam.

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